THE spiralling cost of fuel is a ‘ferocious worry’ facing agricultural contractors as the war in the Middle East continues. 

‘We’re in limbo land at the moment and have no idea where this is going to end up,’ said one of West Cork’s leading agri contractors, Kilbrittain based Micheal O’Mahony. 

Between haulage and contracting, his business has 25 vehicles on the road, and he said fuel price hikes was a huge concern at the moment. 

The situation is constantly changing but green diesel has already increased by 50% in the last month, from €1 a litre to €1.50. 

‘And margins are already pretty tight for us,’ he said. 

Obviously, no one knows how long the situation will continue, however Micheal said farmers should at least be preparing for possible price hikes when silage season hits. 

As well as concerns over fuel prices, the price and availability of fertiliser is another issue, said Tadhg Healy, chair of IFA West Cork 

‘We can’t look into the future, it’s an evolving situation but one with potentially very serious consequences,’ he said. 

‘Our members are contacting us looking for direction, and it’s an issue that the IFA are bringing to the powers that be. A lot of the seasonal work on farms is getting underway at the moment, work that requires both fuel and fertiliser – farmers have no alternatives, and while people need to look after their margins we’d urge co-ops and merchants not to price gouge,’ he added. 

Bill O’Keeffe, chair of the IFA’s business committee has called for the government’s carbon tax due to be applied in May, to be suspended. 

‘That would see a 2cl increase on green diesel and kerosene. We’re also looking for a European levy on fertiliser to be delayed given the current situation,’ he said.  

He highlighted how CAN  fertiliser has increased between 25% and 30% from €400-€500 a tonne , while urea based fertiliser has gone up 80% from €480 to €850.

‘But it’s not just the cost that’s an issue, it’s fears over its availability. LNG isn’t getting out to some fertiliser producing regions and where fertiliser is being made, there’s fears production will have to cease due to lack of storage, if they can’t get it out. The big thing is that every day fertiliser isn’t produce, it will create a huge deficit for the rest of the year,’ he pointed out. 

However, his advice to farmers is not to  to stockpile or panic buy – even if resources are available –  as that will certainly drive prices up. 

‘We advise to lock in supply for the first six months and wait and see.  But without a doubt it’s of huge concern  to see such a spike in farm costs since February.’

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris has confirmed the Government is finalising an ‘appropriate intervention’ to address rising fuel costs.

However, he said that Ireland and the European Union remain exposed to fossil fuel price shocks and that this reliance is not ‘sustainable’ or ‘secure’.

‘The only lasting answer is to reduce that dependence,’ he said.