Kieran Coughlan: After a year of soaring costs where next for fertiliser prices?

Whilst it is a bitter pill to swallow, any curb in farm production as a result of high fertiliser prices is likely to assist at the other end where farm gate prices for beef, dairy, and grains will hold up better when production is subdued. 

Farmers are set to spend over €1bn on fertiliser this year. Irish farmers use about 1.6m tons of imported fertiliser annually. At an average price north of €800/ton currently, the total cost of imported fertiliser is likely to repeat the records of 2022.

Whilst figures for 2022 are not year available, the expectation is that there was some tail-off in demand in 2022 due to the significant spike in retail prices, albeit there was a flurry of activity at the end of the year when concerns about availability for 2023 emerged.