Blocking fertilizer imports will lead to higher food prices in Ukraine. This was stated on the Suspilne TV channel by Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC).

“Compound fertilizers must be allowed into the ports of Great Odessa. We cannot provide for ourselves with our own production, so imports are vital. Blocking them will lead to higher fertilizer prices,” he noticed.

According to him, complex fertilizers, unlike certain brands of ammonium nitrate, are completely explosion-proof and do not support combustion. Therefore, any restrictions on their import into Ukrainian ports are unjustified from a safety point of view, but at the same time harm agriculture and the Ukrainian economy as a whole.

“Nowadays, farmers are unable to apply fertilizers in preparation for winter sowing. The prospect of crop losses is 30-50%. Everyone will feel the consequences, from individual farmers to large agricultural companies. We will export less, and therefore there will be less foreign exchange earnings,” Marchuk explained.

He warned that due to ship downtime and artificial restrictions, the final cost of not only fertilizers but also agricultural products will increase.

“We are talking not only about crop losses, but also about price increases for the new harvest – both winter and spring crops, as well as vegetables. Without fertilizers, there will be no guaranteed yield or product quality, which will lead to higher food prices on store shelves,” concluded the UAC Deputy Chairman.