The UK government is pressing ahead with its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on imported fertiliser, despite calls from the NFU for a 12-month delay. The charge is scheduled to start on 1 January 2027. HMRC has published illustrative rates, with an initial charge of £1.45 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, which works out to roughly £3.77 per tonne of ammonium nitrate based on default emissions values. Those figures are lower than earlier trade estimates of £10 to £50 per tonne, but the relief may be short-lived. The CBAM rate is set to rise on a tapered scale, with one farmer noting it could climb from about £13 per tonne to £58 per tonne between 2030 and 2035. Fertiliser prices are already up around 35% year on year, so the timing adds pressure on farm input costs. For farmers and importers, the key detail is that the first official CBAM rates will be published before the end of the year, with quarterly updates after that. The system requires importers to declare liability within a year and pay within five more months. Anyone buying imported fertiliser should start tracking emissions data and costs now.
