Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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289. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the degree to which his Department monitors the costs of farm inputs such as fertilisers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5159/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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No fertilisers are now manufactured in Ireland, resulting in indigenous fertiliser companies being price-takers, dependent on global supply and demand and subject to Euro exchange rates against the US dollar and other currencies. Fertilisers (as with crude oil and gas) are mainly traded in US dollars and are thereby subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. A weak euro means increased costs for fuel and fertiliser imports and this has impacted on price trends in recent years.

However, I note that fertiliser prices have more recently experienced a strong price reduction, primarily due to a drop in fertiliser cost inputs and raw materials and this is to be welcomed.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) monitors the price of fertilisers on a monthly basis. My Department receives data on the type and quantity of fertilisers and lime sold on a Quarterly basis from Industry.

Currently, Europe is only 80% self-sufficient in fertiliser production and must import 20% of its requirements. As such, European and Irish fertiliser prices are strongly linked to global prices and heavily influenced by supply and demand.

I understand that the issue of price of fertilisers is an important issue for farmers and the advice from Teagasc is for farmers to keep in contact with merchants as prices often spike at periods of high demand when European order books are full. Purchasing fertilisers at off-peak periods will help minimise prices.