Europe is becoming addicted to cheap Russian fertilizers

Europa uzależnia się od tanich rosyjskich nawozów

European fertilizer producers are concerned about large imports and unequal competition with Russia, Bloomberg reports.
According to Eurostat, already one third of urea imports to the EU come from Russia.
Last year's volume was close to a record.

– Europe faces a real risk of becoming dependent on cheap Russian urea fertilizers. From the point of view of European food security, this is terrible, says the director general of the industry association of fertilizer producers Fertilizers Europe, Antoine Hodja.

Hodja also said the situation was "very dangerous" for European industry and, in the longer term, for EU agriculture. According to Fertilizers Europe, increasing imports from Russia undermine the efforts and expenditures made over the last two years to restore production capacity in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

In 2022, the energy crisis forced the suspension of most fertilizer production in Europe. This was caused by limited supplies of Russian gas and rising energy costs. Gas is a key raw material for the production of nitrogen fertilizers.