Fertiliser prices have again increased steeply as a result of the war in Ukraine, with local farmers having to absorb much of the “exponential” rise in costs over recent months
“Like most other farmers across the world, costs have increased significantly and exponentially to levels we have never seen before,” farmers’ lobby head Malcolm Borg told Times of Malta.
According to one farmer’s expenses, a sack of 25kg of a particular fertiliser used to cost him €35 in 2019 but this year the same fertiliser costs €44.50. Another brand, priced at €11 three years ago, now sells at €21.
Another farmer told Times of Malta that the cost of his fertiliser has shot up by 40 per cent in the last three months alone.
Apart from the jump in the cost of fertiliser, farmers are also forking out more on plastic mulch, which is used to conserve water in the soil and suppress the growth of weeds.
“Both plastic mulch and greenhouse plastic have increased, sometimes by three or four times,” Borg said.
According to the same farmer’s expense list, in 2019, the price of plastic mulch was €1.60 per kg. Now, it retails at a hefty €4.15 per kg.
Maltese consumers must now get used to the increase in food prices and understand how fragile the food supply chain truly is
“Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are huge suppliers of fertiliser, and not only are supplies low, but the demand has increased as importers try to stock up as much as possible during periods of uncertainty, which leads to an increase in prices,” said Borg, who leads Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi, which represents many farmers.
Food manufacturers, restaurants, suppliers of finishing materials and other businesses across the country have all been hit by price hikes and shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine, as well as other factors connected with the pandemic and supply chain issues that are fuelling inflation.
The rising fertiliser costs have added to the challenges already faced by local farmers, which range from extreme weather events to the threat some of them face of being evicted from their fields.
Does this all result in an increase in price for the consumer?
“While product prices may have gone up slightly, in reality farmers are absorbing a lot of the increase in costs themselves,” Borg said.
This, he said, was because farmers sell their produce at the pitkali, the regulated market which sets prices.
Borg said a solution to the fertiliser price issue could be found locally. Maltese farms produce animal manure that local growers could use more of.
“Ideally, we would make better use of the animal manure which is produced locally so that we can replace a percentage of the artificial fertiliser we import,” he said.
“That way we will manage to reduce our dependency on the increasing expenses of imported artificial fertiliser, which in the long run will reduce the expenses faced by consumers.”
But he said Maltese consumers must now get used to the increase in food prices and understand how fragile the food supply chain truly is.