Ammonium nitrate is a key input for farming businesses and represents a significant portion of farmers’ input costs. The current duties have been in place since 2002.
The UK farming unions were part of a coalition of farmers’ unions to call for the abolition of these duties because they are market distorting and have reduced choice for farmers. These anti-dumping measures have also lowered UK farmers’ competitiveness compared to farmers in third countries, who can source fertilisers from the most competitive producers with the best value for money.
The commission decided to lower the level of duty from €47.07 to €32.71 per tonne instead of abolish the duties altogether. These duties will expire in November 2019 and the coalition of farming unions will continue work for the complete removal of these duties.