2022-09-06 ANFFE meets with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The National Association of Fertilizer Manufacturers (ANFFE) has met on August 31, 2022 with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), Luis Planas, at the Ministry's headquarters. The President, Javier Goñi, and the Secretary General, Paloma Pérez, attended on behalf of ANFFE, while the Secretary General of Agriculture and Food, Fernando Miranda, and the Director General of Agricultural Production and Markets, Esperanza Orellana, also participated on behalf of MAPA. .

The objective of the meeting, in which ACEFER and AEFA were also present, was to exchange information on the current situation of the fertilizer sector and analyze the factors that are affecting its competitiveness, both in Spain and in the EU, and their consequences in the agriculture.

The President of ANFFE has conveyed to the Ministry that, despite the negative circumstances that the sector is currently going through, all the necessary efforts are being made to guarantee the supply of fertilizers to farmers during this next sowing campaign.

He especially highlighted the negative impact that the spectacular rise in the price of gas is having on the manufacture of fertilizers, which has led several European producers to temporarily close some of their nitrogenous fertilizer production plants, which use gas as the main raw material . This reduction in European production will have a clear negative impact on the availability of fertilizers in the EU, increasing dependence on third countries and putting food security at risk. For this reason, ANFFE has asked the Ministry to make all the necessary efforts at a European level to return to the prices prior to these large increases, with which the European manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizers can be maintained and guarantee the future supply to the farmers of an input that is essential for agricultural production.

The meeting assessed, among others, the negative impact that the drought is having on Spanish agricultural production, as well as the consequences that the relationship with Algeria is having on the sector, both in terms of purchases of raw materials as well as for the export of finished products.

ANFFE has highlighted the investment effort of companies in the sector for the development of new projects, whose objective, among others, is the search for alternative sources of raw materials, through green ammonia and the recovery of nutrients from bio-waste and by-products, with which it is possible to walk the path of the circular economy, reduce dependence on foreign countries and increase the competitiveness of European industry and agriculture. Likewise, companies continue to bet on the incorporation of biostimulants and other components that allow improving the efficiency of fertilization and increasing the added value of the products, thereby improving the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture.

ANFFE has pointed out the importance of reconciling the EU's environmental policies (green deal, etc.) with the necessary measures to achieve European food security and has highlighted the important role that national administrations play in this. Likewise, ANFFE has requested that the commercial defense measures that the EU currently has in force against the unfair commercial practices of some countries continue to be maintained, in order to continue protecting companies and jobs in Europe.