Mr. Eddie Punch:

The European Commission published a report today on its response to the fertiliser crisis. It has echoes of what happened in Sri Lanka. Heads are being buried in the sand with regard to the real crisis in the cost and availability of fertiliser. In recent weeks, we saw gas prices come down, which is perhaps slightly positive, but the EU has failed to address import tariffs on fertiliser which is an insane policy given what we are facing at the moment. The general approach by the EU is that this is an opportunity to move to organic and green fertilisers. Everyone is in favour of that but we must be practical. If we want production we need nitrogen, N, phosphorous, P, and potassium, K. There is a level of detachment in the EU's response today which is frankly quite shocking.

The question of food security may be coming at us quicker than we think. Many EU member states are reducing their dairy and beef production. The reality is that the pig sector is also in crisis and expensive fertiliser is leading to major difficulties for crops across Europe. If we combine that with uncertainty about climate the EU's response today is shocking. The answer is that food security is likely to become a problem sooner rather than later.