Europe has become dependent on Russian fertilizers

In Europe, dependence on Russian fertilizers is growing, similar to gas, the Financial Times writes , citing one of the world's largest producers of fertilizers for agricultural crops.

Thus, according to Eurostat data, in June 2023, EU countries imported twice as much fertilizer from Russia compared to the previous year. Russian fertilizer imports are at record levels and account for approximately a third of total EU imports.

“Fertilizer is the new gas,” said Yara International chief executive Svein Tore Holseter, stressing that Russian fertilizer producers face fewer restrictions and benefit from lower energy costs.

Fertilizer prices have risen sharply since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine as sanctions have limited access to gas, the main source for the production of nitrogen fertilizers, the FT writes. European farmers suffered from this, and African farmers stopped using fertilizers altogether, which affected their yields.

“When fertilizer prices really rose, we saw that Europe had a higher solvency than countries in the global south. So if this is used [as leverage], again, the poorest will pay the highest price,” Holseter said.

Since then, the FT writes, fertilizer prices have fallen due to falling natural gas costs. However, the European fertilizer industry is still struggling as Russian imports take up a large market share.

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