Poland Recalculates Fertiliser Reference Prices After Farmer Protests
Polish Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski has signed a new notice with recalculated fertiliser reference prices. After farmer protests, prices for 12 of 14 fertiliser types were lowered.
Polish Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski has signed a new notice setting recalculated fertiliser reference prices, which are used to determine emergency aid for farmers. The ministry reworked the figures after objections from farmers and farm organisations. The aid covers mineral fertiliser purchases in 2026, when costs rose because of the crisis in the Middle East.
What changed
The minister explained that the data source was changed. The earlier rates relied on statistical data and average prices from the fourth quarter of 2025. Now the ministry uses figures collected by agricultural advisers directly at fertiliser sales points, rather than data prepared by Poland's statistics office (GUS). The new calculations also take into account price differences between voivodeships.
After the recalculation, reference prices for 12 of 14 fertiliser types were reduced, while two stayed unchanged. The largest drop was for potassium sulphate: 887.60 zloty per tonne, from 4,238.85 to 3,351.25. Ammonium nitrate fell from 1,929.60 to 1,730.53 zloty per tonne, and urea from 2,575.30 to 2,333.24.
Why farmers objected
The ministry published the first prices at the end of September. Farmers said they were higher than what they had actually paid. Damian Murawiec, a farmer from Warmia-Masuria voivodeship, showed invoices with lower prices and estimated that under the original rates aid for his farm of more than 400 hectares would be only a few hundred zloty. The Wielkopolska Agricultural Chamber calculated that the average ammonium nitrate price in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 1,685.17 zloty per tonne.
The reference price matters because aid is calculated from the gap between the price actually paid and the reference price: the lower the reference price, the higher the potential aid.
What happens next
The application window closed on 23 October. ARiMR, Poland's Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, registered 397,200 applications for fertiliser and fuel aid, of which 169,600 concerned fertilisers. Decisions are due by 23 November.
