Reconsider import levies says NFU

By Robert Harris

THE NFU is urging the European Commission to reconsider jacking up anti-dumping levies on Russian ammonium nitrate imports.

A rise from 26.30/t (16/t) to 47.07/t (29/t) has been proposed to protect EU makers from unfair competition.

But Russian imports only represent 5% of total European AN use.

While the commission uses this figure to dismiss the impact its proposal would have on farmers, it also adds that 5% is significant enough to justify a near doubling of the tariff, says Marcus Themans, chairman of the NFUs technical services committee.

“It is using one figure to justify two contradictory arguments. While farm incomes have fallen, prices within the EC fertiliser market and manufacturers profitability over the past 18 months have surged.”