Alternative sources of fertiliser and scaled-up production in Europe are required as a matter of urgency, an Irish MEP has said.
Speaking during a meeting in Europe today (Wednesday, April 20) Fine Gael MEP, Colm Markey, asked if the European Commission is doing anything to look at alternative sources of supply.
At that meeting, members of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) addressed the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture.
“It’s clear there’s more at play here – there are very few players in the market and as a result, there’s a lack of competition. Can something be done to increase that level of competition?” he asked.
“I’ve talked to a lot of small traders particularly in Ireland who are very cautious about investing ahead because of the risk involved and there is even less competition as a result,” he said.
“We also need to look at measures to identify fertiliser-production capabilities as critical infrastructure because one of the concerns I have is that, while a significant portion of our fertiliser comes from Russia, a significant proportion of the ownership of some of the European production has a Russian element to it.”
Markey said if this situation isn’t dealt with, then once autumn and winter come around, the supply of feed and grain will be so limited that there could be a serious risk of feed shortages, and all the issues that go with such a scenario.
In response to the questions posed by MEP Markey, deputy director-general in DG Agri, Michael Scannell, said the Commission’s recently established expert group on food security is prioritising the issue and the Commission is very alert to the potential consequences to next year’s harvest.