Federal Government interference could reduce the amount of fertiliser available to Australian farmers this year, according to Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Darren Chester.
Mr Chester said the Albanese Government’s commitment to underwrite price variations in fertiliser shipments because of the war in Iran was ‘well intentioned but poorly implemented’.
“We’re at a critical point where importers need to place their orders for fertiliser in the next two weeks but most of them are still waiting to see the terms of the underwriting offer,” Mr Chester said.
“The deal was meant to help de-risk the decision to buy fertiliser at inflated prices, when the price could drop suddenly after a ship departed for Australia, leaving importers highly exposed and reluctant to make any purchases.
“In the case of a major price drop, the government was offering to refund the difference if the fertiliser had not already been sold at the higher price in Australia.
“But most importers haven’t been able to get any clarity from the government and despite registering interest to participate, have no idea how the scheme will work for them.
“The end result is importers may actually reduce their orders to avoid the uncertainty and Australian farmers will have less access to fertiliser in the months ahead.”
Mr Chester has written to the Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins and requested urgent action to provide a level playing field for all fertiliser imports.
“This has turned into a bureaucratic merry-go-round and no-one is taking responsibility and giving clear answers to the sector,” Mr Chester said.
“The Federal Government made the big announcement but now it needs to provide clear guidelines on the under-writing scheme, and allow equal access to all industry participants who choose to opt in.
“We can’t allow an anti-competitive situation where some importers have their shipments underwritten by taxpayers while others carry the entire risk by themselves.
“It will have a chilling effect on the fertiliser industry as some businesses will refuse to take the risk to import product, knowing their competitors have a government-backed scheme to pay back any losses they may incur if the situation changes in the Middle East.”