EU set to approve higher tariffs on Russian, Belarusian fertilisers
From 1 July, we will most likely be fully cut off from unnecessary Russian and Belarusian fertilisers, Polish Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Michał Baranowski told journalists in Brussels.
The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on a new EU regulation aimed at, among other things, increasing tariffs on fertilisers imported to the EU from Russia and Belarus. This is to limit their import to the Union, which has been rapidly increasing in recent years.
As Baranowski stated, the work on raising tariffs on fertilisers from Russia and Belarus is a major success of the Polish presidency in the EU. In this context, he highlighted the "security dimension."
"This is something that was very important for the Polish presidency, for the Polish government, and we are very pleased that we are at the end of this process and that from 1 July, we will most likely be fully cut off from these unnecessary Russian and Belarusian fertilisers," he added.
The new EU regulation project assumes that the increase in tariffs on nitrogen fertilisers will occur gradually over a transitional period lasting three years. The increased tariffs aim to gradually replace Russia's share in fertiliser imports to the EU with other sources.
Some EU member states have already phased out Russian nitrogen fertilisers, without experiencing supply shortages or market price increases. Baranowski flew to Brussels for a meeting of ministers responsible for competitiveness.
Russian fertilisers have been flooding Poland since last year. According to available data highlighted by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, in January and February of this year alone, the import of these goods from Russia rose by 64% compared to a similar period in 2022.
