MEMBER VOICE — UNITED KINGDOM

NFU and its UK counterparts — NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers’ Union — are calling on governments to act on fuel and fertiliser price transparency, fair market practices and agricultural resilience as the Middle East crisis drives input costs sharply higher.

On 27 March, office bearers from the UK’s four farming unions — NFU, NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers’ Union — met in Newry to urgently discuss the growing impact of global instability on farm businesses across the UK. Their joint statement was unambiguous: volatility in global energy markets, linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, is driving significant uncertainty in the cost and availability of key inputs — and governments must act.

“Farm businesses across the UK are facing increasing pressure as a result of global events beyond their control. Volatility in fuel and fertiliser markets is creating real uncertainty at farm level, with implications for food production, supply chains and ultimately consumers. Profitability underpins everything.” — Joint statement, UK Farming Unions, Newry, 27 March 2026

©NFU UK

What farmers are facing

The pressure is hitting across every major input simultaneously. Urea futures surged 60% from $435 to $708 per tonne between 27 February and the weeks that followed — placing immediate upward pressure on farmgate fertiliser prices. Current UK stock levels are reported sufficient for the current season, though farmers may have greater difficulty procuring their preferred product types. Grassland farms are more exposed, often waiting to purchase until after animals are turned out and shed space becomes available. NFU members are already adapting reducing input use, paying closer attention to usage, and securing more slurry as an alternative to bagged fertiliser. The medium-term risk is equally serious — by 2027, arable and dairy farmers planning their cropping decisions will face the difficult calculus of low crop and dairy prices against expensive fertiliser.

On energy, UK gas prices peaked at over 170 GBp/therm on 19 March — more than double the pre-conflict level of approximately 76 GBp/therm on 27 February — following attacks on an Iranian gas field. Norway remains the dominant supplier of gas into the UK, providing some buffer against Middle Eastern disruption. However, UK gas storage is at a five-year low for this time of year, compounding the risk of price rises as restocking for winter becomes increasingly difficult. For farm fuel, the situation is more acute: red diesel prices have risen from below 70 pence per litre to approximately 117 ppl, with many suppliers refusing to commit to a price until the day of delivery. Orders for some suppliers have been 300% higher than normal, driven by both precautionary stockpiling and a seasonal surge in fieldwork as wet weather has eased. The structural fragility of the supply chain is a compounding factor — processing and storage capacity was reduced after construction ceased to be a major user of red diesel in 2022, leaving a system built for normal demand and poorly equipped to absorb surges. Farmers placing orders without an agreed price face an aborted delivery fee if they refuse on the day — a situation the unions describe as creating real uncertainty at farm level.

Of particular concern to the unions is the lack of transparency in how prices for key agricultural inputs are set. Many farmers are being asked to commit to purchases without clear or timely information, making it extremely difficult to plan and manage already tight margins.

Government response: measures taken so far

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has signalled she is considering targeted reductions to agri-food tariffs to ease consumer cost-of-living pressures — a move the farming unions have greeted with concern, warning of the risk of collateral damage to UK farmers through increased agri-food competition on the domestic market. The Chancellor has also announced a new anti-profiteering framework for the Competition and Markets Authority, with powers to tackle companies that exploit price rises — a measure the unions broadly welcome as a potential check on input suppliers.

Following asks by NFU, the industry levy body AHDB has increased fertiliser price reporting from monthly to weekly — a welcome step, though one that does not yet address the near-total opacity of red diesel pricing, where no recognised index exists and many farmers receive no price until the moment of delivery.

What the unions are calling for

The four unions have issued a coordinated call for government action across four areas: improving transparency in the pricing of red diesel and fertiliser, including more frequent and accessible market data; ensuring fair market practices and close supply chain monitoring; strengthening resilience within the agricultural sector, recognising the essential role of domestic food production in times of global instability; and providing clarity on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and its potential impact on fertiliser costs.

On resilience, the unions are explicit: the loss of direct payments in England and the turbulent transition towards agri-environmental support schemes have left many farmers with a significant loss of income and less headroom to withstand crisis. Adequate and reliable farm support is the foundation on which resilience is built. This report is part of an ongoing series in which WFO is gathering and amplifying contributions from its member organisations worldwide in response to the Middle East crisis.

About NFU

Founded in 1908, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is the voice of farming and growing businesses in England and Wales, representing 43,000 farming and growing businesses. Its purpose is to champion British agriculture and horticulture, campaign for a stable and sustainable future for British farmers and secure the best possible outcomes for its members. Led by President Tom Bradshaw (re-elected February 2026), NFU is WFO’s UK member organisation, headquartered at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, with offices throughout England and Wales and representation in Brussels.

Photo cover: ©NFU UK