OREANDA-NEWS Restrictions on fertilizers from the Russian Federation will lead to an increase in food prices in Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin called this decision stupid, as quoted by TASS.

During a meeting with the head of state, Andrey Guryev, President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, said that the European Union (EU) intends to completely abandon Russian mineral fertilizers in the next three years.

"From an economic point of view, from the point of view of the interests of our own agriculture, this is complete stupidity, as far as I understand," Putin said.

According to Guryev, farmers' associations are against the ban on Russian fertilizers. Local agricultural producers note that products from the Russian Federation account for a significant part (5.5 million tons) of the 17 million tons of mineral fertilizers that the region imports. It will not be possible to replace them in the shortest possible time just like that.

"But we need to get physical volumes somewhere... it's not even a matter of prices - the number of producers in the world is also limited," the president noted.

In the second half of May 2025, the European Parliament approved the phased introduction of duties on imports of Russian and Belarusian fertilizers. Starting in July, tariffs will rise to 40-45 euros per ton, and by 2035 they will reach 100 percent of the customs value. Despite the protests of large industry trade unions, the EC believes that the negative effect for local farmers will not come until next year.

Mikhail Sterkin, Phosagro's Deputy General Director for Sales and Marketing, warned that sanctions against Russian fertilizers violate food security around the world. Restrictions will lead to higher prices and lower availability of these products.