Questions have been raised regarding whether the European Commission is doing anything to look at sources of fertiliser alternatives. Irish MEP Colm Markey raised concerns on the matter while speaking during a meeting in Europe earlier this week, where members of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) addressed the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture.
The Fine Gael MEP asked the following question, “it’s clear there’s more at play here, there are very few players in the market and as a result, there’s a lack of competition fertiliser alternatives. Can something be done to increase that level of competition?”
“I’ve talked to a lot of small traders particularly in Ireland who are very cautious about investing ahead because of the risk involved and there is even less competition as a result,” he said. Markey adds that they have to look at measures to identify fertiliser-production capabilities as critical infrastructure because one of the concerns is that while a significant portion of our fertiliser comes from Russia, a significant proportion of the ownership of some of the European production has a Russian element to it.
Responding to the questions posed by MEP Markey, deputy director-general in DG Agri, Michael Scannell, said the Commission’s recently established expert group on food security is prioritising the issue and the Commission is very alert to the potential consequences to next year’s harvest.
Markey concluded that if this situation isn’t dealt with, once autumn and winter comes around, the supply of feed and grain will be so limited that there could be a serious risk of feed shortages.