Against a background of EU sanctions on Russia, industry complaints and media questions, the State’s top civil servants were scrambling for answers.

Here, we tell the story behind the importation of the fertiliser and what happened next.

In mid-October the Farming Independent received a tip-off that two boats carrying approximately 40,000t of fertiliser that had originated in a Russian port were about to land in Waterford.

One of the boats (the Solitaire I, with a Panamanian flag) was carrying NPK 27-6-6 fertiliser, while the other (the Liberian-flagged Pluto) carried 16-16-16.

In February, within days of the invasion of Ukraine, the EU had imposed sanctions on Russia and Russian individuals. At the time a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed that EU sanctions do not target Russian agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilisers.

However, documents, released under Freedom of Information, reveal that during this time, the Department of Agriculture had received complaints that the fertiliser was banned and could be linked to a sanctioned individual.

At the time the Department of Agriculture confirmed to the Farming Independent that it was aware of a shipment of fertiliser from Russia that was due in Ireland within days, and interdepartmental memos show that Revenue officials wrote to other departments stating that its analytics software has "not shown any Russian connection to these vessels other than some calls at Russian ports".

The ownership and control, according to Revenue, seems to have been with Greek and German owners/operators respectively for a number of years.

According to the documents the "Irish competitors are maintaining that this is a departure from what nearly all EU fertiliser companies are doing, with little to no fertiliser coming to the EU from Russia".

"Additional complaints are commenting that this is morally wrong," one Department of Agriculture internal memo reveals.

However, top officials warned Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that without a clear legislative basis to prohibit such imports, the State would leave itself open to legal action if it interfered with the commercial transaction.

"There are three tests which need to be applied to the consignments to see if the importation is legal:

Q. Can the product be imported under quota? A. Yes it can.

Q. How is the vessel flagged? A. Vessels are not Russian flagged.

Q. Is the vendor of the fertiliser linked to a listed individual? A. TBD."

The official also said that: “In essence, notwithstanding the appalling consequences of the war, the morality of any such imports is a commercial issue and one that should be properly addressed to the company concerned.”

A meeting was held on October 19 with the Department of Agriculture, Transport, Enterprise and Revenue to examine these questions.

With the first ship due to dock in Waterford on October 20, the Department of Agriculture said in a memo the day before "complaints have been received into this Department that the fertiliser is banned... We are also receiving complaints that the product is being supplied by a company linked to a sanctioned individual. Additional complaints are commenting that this is morally wrong."

An internal Department of Enterprise (DETE) communication states it would not be "in any way facilitating the import or acting on behalf of DAFM – as there is nothing to be authorised here.

"The potential issue for us is that if it transpires that the importer has made a payment to a sanctioned entity, then one of the Competent Authorities would have to take a prosecution for breach of sanctions. It doesn’t have to be DETE but there would be media questions to answer etc.”

While the FOI documents show the vessels were not Russian flagged, so no derogation was required for port access, there were concerns among officials the fertiliser supplier is owned by a Russian oligarch who is sanctioned under the EU Regulations.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed that while the fertilisers came from a Russian port, "the company (Nitrofert) has advised that BoI (Bank of Ireland) Sanctions team did their own due diligence for the transaction and processed the payment”.

The Department of Agriculture then contacted the Central Bank looking for advice on the matter, and received the following response:

"We have not received any notifications of these payments from [redacted], but we would normally expect to receive such notifications unless the credit institution identified that the entity to which the payment is to be made is a designated person."

The Department of Agriculture stated in its communication that "many of the fertiliser companies have links to listed individuals that we thought it was important to be certain. Competitors of the importer have been making complaints and we have been told that the EU will be watching this closely."

By the weekend (Saturday) officials in the Department of Agriculture wrote "can confirm the importer understands the obligations on him and believes he has done the rigorous screening.

“The bank has also undertaken checks. The importer believes that he is in compliance with the Regulations but I asked him to supply the evidence as we had received complaints that the import was in breach of sanctions."

The Department of Enterprise responded that "the legal obligation is squarely on the importer to ensure it is in full compliance with all sanctions...If at any point it transpires that a payment was made, even inadvertently, to an entity associated with a sanctioned person, then the importer would be liable to criminal prosecution for breach of sanctions.

“So, I cannot overstate how important it is that the importer carries out rigorous screening and due diligence on all parties to the transaction."

Wexford company Nitrofert imported the fertiliser and insisted at the time it was no different than buying gas from the sanctioned country and essential to ensuring continued food production in Ireland.

Nitrofert owner and managing director Eamonn Galavan told the Irish Independent at the time the fertiliser was not sourced from Russian firm Acron, but declined to say who manufactured the fertiliser, citing commercial sensitivity.

Following public pressure, some of the country’s biggest outlets for fertiliser said they would not accept supplies from Russia.

In March 2023, the Farming Independent again asked these same retailers for their stance on the issue.

“In 2022, the Board of Tirlán confirmed our Co-op will not be sourcing fertiliser product from Russia. Sourcing policies are focused on securing non-Russian sources of fertiliser for our farmers. This decision was taken in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the views of our employees,” a spokesperson said.

Kerry Agribusiness confirmed that it is not stocking or selling Russian-origin fertiliser and does not intend to sell Russian-origin fertiliser for the foreseeable future.

Lakeland Dairies, Aurivo and Dairygold did not respond to a request for comment.

Of the €1bn worth of fertiliser imported into Ireland during 2022, €100,086,000 came from Russia since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.

Joe Wallace of Wallace Agri Trading in Wexford told the Farming Independent that he is open to selling the fertiliser that was imported from Russia in October by Nitrofert.

"The stuff that comes in from Russia is a very good product. It's not banned or illegal,” said Mr Wallace - brother of MEP Mick Wallace.

“Every company in Europe is buying from Russia, directly or indirectly. Since sanctions came in it has driven prices up.

“Farmers, look if it's cheap enough they'll buy it. It's a storm in a teacup really. If there were no sanctions in place, they (Russia) would be getting less money.

“Sanctions are being used as an economic weapon. They are hurting poor people. You can't blame wholesalers for buying it in. There was a danger that there was going to be a shortage. When Nitrofert brought it in they didn't release it initially.

“I will sell it (Russian Fertiliser), it's great stuff. Co-ops jumped the gun on it. They have a tendency to be PC.”

Another merchant told the Farming Independent: “So long as it’s not illegal and it came through the Department of Agriculture, it will be widely accepted by farmers.

“We’d all love not to have to buy from Vladimir Putin, but the reality is he is the man who has the resources.”