The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that over 1.14 million tonnes of fertiliser were sold in the first three quarters of the fertiliser year.

This represents a 5.5% decrease when compared to the amount sold in the same period last year, which was 1.2 million tonnes.

However, it should be noted that the corresponding figure for intial three quarters of 2023/2024 fertiliser year was 956,129 tonnes.

The DAFM statistics show that from October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, 628,643t of compound fertilisers was sold, along with 510,717t of straights.

Some 381,145t of nutrient was sold in the nine-month period, which is back by almost 8% on the previous year.

Fertiliser

In the nine months up to June 30, 1.1 million tonnes of nitrogen (N) fertiliser was sold, which is down by 5% on the 1.6 million tonnes sold in the same period last year.

Of the overall N fertiliser figure, over 617,000t was compounds and almost 490,000t were straights.

The data shows that sales of phosphorus (P) were down 5% to 584,166t, while potassium (K) sales were back by 6% in the period to 643,554t.

The most popular compound fertilisers based on sales over the period were 18-6-12 (136,371t), 27-2.5-5 (107,015t) and 24-2.5-10 (87,198t).

By the end of the Q3 in the 2026 fertiliser year, over 22,000t of stabilised urea compounds were sold.

The data also shows that over 152,000t of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) 26% + 5% sulphur (S) was sold in the period, along with 108,000t of CAN 27%.

Almost 56,000t of straight stabilised urea (46%) was sold over the nine months.

Budget

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris told the Dáil yesterday (Thursday, September 24) that the government is working on supports for farmers facing soaring fertiliser and fuel costs.

The Tánaiste confirmed that the Fuel Income Support Scheme for farmers will be extended.

He added that supports will also be brought forward in relation to fertiliser and fodder.

The Daíl heard that details of these measures will be finalised in the coming days.

Pressure has been mounting on the government to deliver a fertiliser support scheme for farmers since the €540 million EU Fertiliser Action Plan was approved by member states in July.

Ireland has been allocated almost €15.4 million in emergency assistance which can be made available to farmers.

As part of the package member states are able to complement the EU support up to 200% using national funds, meaning the Irish scheme could be worth €46.2 million.