Anti-dumping duties considered prejudicial to UK Farming

The NFU has told a European Commission review of anti-dumping duties imposed on fertiliser from the Ukraine that such measures act as artificial trade barriers and, given the importance of fertiliser to agriculture, can curb profitability of farms across the UK and EU.

Hannah Moule, NFU Transport and Inputs Adviser, said the review of the duties, which apply to ammonium nitrate and were first imposed in 2001, was particularly timely.

"Wherever possible, we give our opinion to Europe about a range of policy measures, typically liaising with our counterparts across Europe. But given the dynamics of the fertiliser market in 2008, and the high prices that prevailed across the country, it was particularly important that we took this opportunity to respond on behalf of members."

Miss Moule said the NFU’s submission also pointed to the fact that an increasing proportion of energy needs were effectively imported into the EU, and that investment in new fertiliser plants and manufacturing capacity reflected this structural shift in energy production.

"It seems only reasonable that farmers are able to access inputs from the most efficient producers or those with a natural comparative advantage," she added.

UK agriculture spent an estimated ￡1.5 billion on fertiliser products in 2008, with ammonium nitrate the single most used fertiliser product. Historically high prices last year only served to highlight the fact that the price of fertiliser has a significant impact on the profitability of a large number of farming businesses, and validated the NFU opinion that anti-dumping measures appear unfounded in this instance.