War in the Middle East: Its becoming too expensive to produce due to rising fertilizer prices, laments

“It is becoming too expensive to produce” due to the rising prices of agricultural fertilizers, lamented Cédric Benoist on Monday, April 13, president of the cereals working group at the Copa-Cogeca federation, in an interview with Radio France correspondent in Brussels. He will take part in the meeting organized on Monday by the European Commission with representatives from the agricultural sector to discuss the 20% increase in fertilizer prices since the beginning of the Middle East war.

Supplies of agricultural fertilizers are disrupted for several reasons: one-third of these products transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked for over a month, and many petrochemical complexes are damaged, targeted by strikes in the Middle East. “We have no visibility, we have fertilizer prices that are completely crazy compared to cereal prices, which have remained stable,” emphasizes the representative of the largest European unions, including FNSEA.

“At these prices, there is no way we can make ends meet. That is the real issue,” Cédric Benoist laments further. Farmers are concerned because this price hike could affect next year’s crops, as fertilizers are purchased a year in advance. Immediately, professional organizations are calling on the European Union to ease its carbon, customs, or anti-dumping taxes to lighten the farmers’ bill.