Leaders from three major European fertilizer producers have called on the European Commission to implement tariffs of at least 30% on EU fertilizer imports from Russia and Belarus, in a letter sent to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Jan. 24 and shared with S&P Global Commodity Insights. The veracity of the letter was confirmed by a source close to the matter.
"Russia is responsible for approximately 30% of fertilizers imported into the Union, which creates a high and very risky dependency on an unreliable partner," the authors write. "This threatens the [fertilizer] industry's competitiveness, the Union's food security and derails the region's decarbonization plans."
The letter was signed by Leo Alders, CEO of LAT Nitrogen and president of industry association Fertilizers Europe, Hubert Kamola, CEO of Grupa Azoty and vice president of Fertilizers Europe, and Monica Andres Enriquez, executive vice president of Yara and also vice president of Fertilizers Europe. None of the three companies responded to requests for comment.
The proposed tariff level is in-line with a similar level of 30%-40% suggested by Fertilizers Europe Director General Antoine Hoxha, in a recent conversation with Commodity Insights. The EU currently imposes a 6.5% duty on urea imports and a 5.5% duty on ammonia imports from Russia and Belarus.
According to the letter, fertilizers coming to the EU from Russia and Belarus pose an existential threat to European producers, who reportedly struggle to compete against lower-cost imports. Feedstock costs for gas for Russian producers averaged $1.60/MMBtu in 2024, compared to the average Dutch TTF price of $11/MMBtu for European producers, according to Ella Mukerji, head of Nitrogen Analysis at Commodity Insights.
Mukerji, though, is skeptical there is enough of a commercial threat from cheaper imports to motivate tariffs. The EU's recent share of urea imports from Russia, she pointed out, has not exceeded historical levels. From January-October 2024, the EU's average monthly share of Russian urea imports was 17%, she said, in-line with recent averages of between 8%-27%.
"This suggests that from purely commercial reasoning alone tariffs may not be implemented," she said. Nevertheless, she added there may be justifications for tariffs "from a political perspective."
The writers of the Jan. 24 letter call for urgent action to implement tariffs "no later than February, before the agricultural year starts."
Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed its FCA France urea spot price at Eur450/mt on Jan. 23.
