Towards a better regulatory regime for fertilisers: SNA response to UK Fertilising Product Regulation consultation

The Sustainable Nitrogen Alliance (SNA) has submitted its response to the UK Government’s consultation on the proposed Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR), which closed in June.

The reforms represent a major opportunity to modernise a fragmented and outdated regulatory framework. However, any reforms must strike the right balance between environmental ambition, regulatory coherence and commercial certainty for farmers.

At the same time, the government is being lobbied to reduce tariffs on imported nitrogen fertilisers to compensate for the surge in prices caused by the conflict in Iran.

While recognising the challenge this price surge presents for farm profitability, these developments reinforce the need for a fiscal and regulatory regime that focuses on long-term farm profitability and resilience and helps farmers transition away from expensive synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

In this blog, we explore six areas where our consultation response outlines how well-developed regulations will support a transition away from synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

(1) A clear opportunity for modernisation

We welcome the Government’s ambition to create a harmonised UK fertiliser regulatory regime. There is real potential to:

• Enable safer and more sustainable fertiliser products

• Facilitate innovation in circular economy solutions

• Strengthen environmental and human health protections in product regulations

• Increase market confidence through clearer, more consistent standards on fertilisers

These are important steps toward building a more resilient and future-ready regime for fertiliser products that supports both agricultural productivity and environmental outcomes.

(2) The need for a whole-system approach

However, as currently proposed, the FPR risks addressing only part of the challenge. By focusing primarily on products placed on the market, rather than how nutrients are produced, managed and applied across the system, the framework leaves a critical policy gap.

Nitrogen pollution is driven by system-wide factors, including total nutrient loading and agricultural practices. Without stronger alignment with relevant regimes (including agricultural pollution controls and UK REACH), there is a risk of regulatory fragmentation and missed opportunities to reduce environmental harm.

A more integrated, whole-system approach that encompasses both inorganic and organic fertiliser products is essential to ensure that the FPR contributes meaningfully to the UK’s environmental and climate objectives.

(3) Risks for business, markets and innovation

The consultation also raises significant commercial and legal considerations for businesses across the fertiliser supply chain, as well as for farmers who rely on regulatory certainty and access to safe, affordable inputs.

Poorly calibrated rules could:

• Lock in reliance on high-input systems, particularly synthetic nitrogen fertilisers, rather than supporting a transition toward lower-input approaches

• Create unintended demand for contaminated or waste-derived products without addressing upstream environmental harms that will make it possible to use them safely

• Limit future innovation by taking an inflexible approach to product scope and delaying the inclusion of emerging fertiliser types

• Exacerbate regulatory fragmentation, particularly where alignment with UK REACH and agricultural pollution policy is unclear

• Increase environmental and human health risks if contaminant thresholds and safeguards are insufficiently robust

The regulatory framework must support innovation in genuinely sustainable and uncontaminated fertiliser technologies, rather than reinforcing business-as-usual pathways.

(4) Trade and regulatory alignment with the EU

The interaction between the UK FPR and the EU Fertilising Products Regulation will be critical. This extends beyond fertiliser rules themselves, intersecting with wider considerations around UK and EU REACH, SPS alignment and cross-border supply chains.

Unnecessary divergence could increase compliance burdens, create legal uncertainty for businesses, and undermine market access. Conversely, a well-aligned approach can support trade, maintain high standards, and provide clarity for manufacturers and importers.

(5) Ensuring environmental integrity

The effectiveness of the FPR will ultimately depend on the strength of its environmental and health safeguards. This includes:

• Expanding contaminant controls to address emerging risks such as microplastics, PFAS and antibiotic residues and incorporating maximum limits

• Ensuring transparency through robust labelling and data requirements

• Applying a precautionary approach for risks to human or environmental health

• Bringing organic and waste-derived fertilisers into scope early, with appropriate safeguards

  
  

Circular economy solutions play an important role in promoting long-term soil fertility. However, they must be underpinned by strong regulation to avoid pollution swapping or the externalisation of risks from intensive production systems.

(6) Supporting a sustainable transition

A transition away from synthetic fertiliser reliance will only succeed if regulation supports higher environmental and health standards while maintaining business confidence in the agricultural transition and avoiding unnecessary complexity.

This means:

• Reducing overall nitrogen demand and dependency on synthetic inputs

• Supporting efficient and targeted nutrient use, from application to storage

• Enabling nature-based approaches to increasing soil fertility alongside safe circular solutions

• Providing clarity and consistency across overlapping regulatory frameworks

There are already productive farming systems operating with significantly reduced input reliance, including certified organic farming. The regulatory framework should support and scale these approaches, not hinder them.

Next steps

The Sustainable Nitrogen Alliance looks forward to continuing to work with the UK Government to ensure that the final FPR framework achieves these aims and provides a robust, coherent foundation for sustainable nutrient management in the UK.