Defra to hold crisis meeting to tackle impact of fertiliser costs on food prices

theguardian.com:

The UK government is to host a crisis planning meeting with farmers about rocketing fertiliser prices, as part of several moves designed to reduce the impact of rising costs on food production.

Quotes for ammonium nitrate fertiliser prices have risen as high as £1,000 a tonne in recent weeks, compared with £280 a tonne a year ago.

The cost of fertiliser first rose in response to the increase in wholesale gas prices, because of the levels of energy needed for production.

More recently the conflict in Ukraine has exacerbated the situation, disrupting exports from Russia and further increasing production costs. A recent price surge sparked panic buying from some farmers who feared the price would keep rising.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will host a fertiliser roundtable this week with industry bodies, chaired by the farming minister Victoria Prentis, to discuss pressures on farmers and to come up with possible solutions to soaring prices.

The meeting will also look at alternatives to ammonium nitrate fertiliser, including those produced from organic material, as well as the use of some traditional farming practices, where crops are grown without fertiliser.

Defra said the government would pay farmers to help them with the cost of sowing nitrogen-fixing plants, such as legumes and clovers, to reduce some of their dependence on manufactured fertilisers.

Some farmers, who are already facing increased costs for fuel and animal feed, have warned they will offset the higher prices by buying less fertiliser, which could lead to lower crop production at a time when supplies of cereals are already threatened by the war in Ukraine, which is a major exporter.

The environment secretary, George Eustice,