The European Fertilizer Manufacturers Association, Fertilizers Europe (FE), recently published a press release arguing that the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on the European fertilizer market is being overstated and that distorted messages about imports and prices are being disseminated. FE states that imports, especially of nitrogen fertilizers, surged in the fourth quarter of 2025 to anticipate the mechanism's entry into force, making the lower imports recorded in January of this year misleading if analyzed in isolation. FE points out that the uncertainty surrounding CBAM and fertilizers has caused market turbulence, particularly due to speculation about a possible retroactive suspension, and that the appropriate response from European authorities should be to directly support farmers, not suspend the mechanism.

The European Association insists that maintaining European fertilizer production is key to ensuring security of supply, also stressing that fertilizers produced in the EU have, on average, a carbon footprint 50 percent lower than that of imported fertilizers.


Link to the news article on the Fertilizers Europe website: https://www.fertilizerseurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Fertilizers-Europe-statement-on-the-European-fertilizer-market_17-02-2026.pdf