Eastern EU nations call for duties on imports of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus

LONDON (ICIS)–Countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have submitted a letter to the European Commission calling for customs duty to be imposed on imports of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus, the Polish Ministry of Development and Technology has confirmed.

The duty being discussed is 30-40% for nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers.

Market participants believe a duty is unlikely to be imposed given Europe’s dependence on Russian fertilizer, especially when gas prices are rising, which could hit domestic production in Europe.

European buyers have delayed imports, including of urea, to the first quarter of 2025. It is unlikely any government would want to antagonize the farming community further when there have been protests by farmers across many countries over the cost of inputs and taxes.

Domestic producers, including in northwest Europe such as Germany, have been campaigning for duties on Russian fertilizers, but met with no success.

Local producers say imports are available at competitive prices, partly due to the low cost of Russian natural gas. This puts pressure on European producers, particularly when it comes to remaining competitive while maintaining profitability.

The concern is that the lower Russian prices could lead to an oversupply, creating unfair competition for European suppliers who may not be able to match those prices.

There is also a broader concern about Europe, and Germany in particular, becoming too dependent on Russian resources – both in terms of urea and potentially other agricultural inputs.

Data from the first eight months of the year shows an increase of more than 50% in fertilizer imports to the EU from Russia compared with the same period last year.

In January-August, Russia was the biggest supplier of urea to Poland, at 426,342 tonnes, more than double the 207,981 tonnes in the same period of 2023, according to customs data.

Additional reporting by Julia Meehan

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