The Association of the Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has said it has written to the government this week to call for targeted financial support to deal with escalating green diesel prices.

According to the association, some contractor members of the FCI have admitted to "being terrified" of calling their fuel suppliers to get quotes.

The average price for FCI member contractors is currently around €1.49/L, some 70% higher than the 2025 average price of 88c/L.

The association warned that the increase is not a short-term one.

The FCI noted that a contractor using 100,000L of fuel is facing an additional cost of approximately €69,000, compared with the 88c/L.

"This cost cannot simply be absorbed by the contractor without ultimately threatening the viability of the business," the group said.

The FCI acknowledged that the Fuel Income Support Scheme was a "welcome recognition" of the pressures facing the sector, but said that the those pressures which led to the scheme being rolled out in the first place have not only not abated, but have, as the FCI claimed, intensified.

The association again called on the government to use the unspent money from the Fuel Income Support Scheme to fund targeted supports for contractors.

Norman Egar, the association's national chairperson, said: "Some of our members admit to being terrified to phone their fuel suppliers for a quote. They simply are at breaking point now and they can't see an end in sight.

"Contractors cannot continue to absorb rising costs indefinitely. Without viable contractors, farmers cannot access the machinery, labour and specialist services required to produce food efficiently and on time," Egar added.

The association's managing director, Anne Gleeson Hanrahan, said: "Retaining the remaining €58 million from the Fuel Income Support Scheme within the agricultural sectors it was originally intended for would provide much-needed certainty during a period of continued volatility in agri-diesel prices.

"Agri-diesel prices are now higher than the peak weeks following the outbreak of the war [between the US and Iran]," she added.

Concern over credit limits

Similar concerns over green diesel prices have been expressed by the chief executive one of the leading fuel industry bodies.

Kevin McPartlan, chief executive of Fuels for Ireland, told Agriland this week that he has been made aware of a potential issue over fuel credit for contractors.

He said: "Typically the agricultural contractors will do the two cuts of silage before the farmers pays anything. Those agricultural contractors all have a credit limit with their fuel provider."

He added: "What you're going to have now, and I've been warned [about] this by members who are heavy in this area, they're very concerned that they're going to have silage contractors who come, they'll do the first cut of silage on their fuel credit and then they'll want to go back and do the second cut of the various different farms that they're working on, and be told that they don't have adequate credit to get more fuel.

"That's going to be a huge problem, because you have a situation where those people are suddenly going off to the farmer and saying: 'I know you weren't expecting to pay me for another couple of months but I kind of need some money now'," McPartlan said.

"No farmer likes an unexpected bill," he said.