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Fertilisers Regulation

Current basic legislation: EU Regulation (EC) 2019/1009 on fertilisers (repelling the Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003). ​

​The Regulation introduces requirements related to quality, safety, and labelling of fertilising products and extends the scope to organic fertilisers, organ-mineral fertilisers, growing media, bio-stimulants, and other products. The Regulation also harmonises EU rules for products derived from waste organic materials and by-products and provides rules to recover nutrients into secondary raw materials.

​Major issues:

  • Opening the single market for more fertilising products: The regulation will provide common rules on safety, quality and labelling requirements for all fertilising products traded across the EU. It will open the market for products which are not currently covered by harmonisation rules, such as organic and organo-mineral fertilisers, soil improvers, inhibitors, plant biostimulants, growing media or blends.
  • Limit values for toxic contaminants in fertilising products: The regulation introduces limits for toxic contaminants for the first time. This will guarantee a high level of soil protection and reduce health and environmental risks while allowing producers to adapt their manufacturing process to comply with the new limits.
  • Maintaining optional harmonisation: A manufacturer can choose between either applying the new regulation and CE-marking the product or complying with national rules and sell the product to other EU countries based on the mutual recognition rules.
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​A Working Group was charged on the smooth implementation of the new Fertilisers Regulation. For more details on the already ongoing work on the implementation of the new rules, follow the activity of the Commission expert group on fertilising products.
Frequently asked questions, related to Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 on fertilising products (the ‘Fertilising Products Regulation’)​
The mutual recognition principle

​​The rules for other fertilising products (such as organic fertilisers) are not harmonised by this regulation. They are governed by national laws and the mutual recognition rules apply
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Technical Specifications on fertilising products

On 21 April 2021, European Committee for Standardisation (CEN published 82 new Technical Specifications on the new Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1009.

As of July 2022, producers need to demonstrate that their products meet the requirements of the Fertilisers Regulation before affixing the CE mark.

European standardisation have to ensure that European standards (EN) and technical specifications (TS) provide analytical methods for manufacturers to verify compliance of their products with the regulation.

The Standardisation Request is structured according to a 'two-phase approach': the TS describe the test methods, which are then validated through inter-laboratory studies and consolidated in subsequent European Standards (EN).

From February to April 2022, as part of the first phase, CEN published 82 Technical Specifications. This is the result of the work made by over 300 experts participating in 15 Working Groups distributed over three Technical Committees.
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​These results have been published by these Technical Works (TC):

  • CEN/TC 223 'Soil Improvers and Growing media' (whose secretariat is held by NEN) - Read
  • CEN/TC 260 (2016) 'Fertilisers and liming material' (whose secretariat is managed by DIN) - Read
  • CEN/TC 455 (2021) 'Vegetable biostimulants' (secretariat held by AFNOR) - Read

 The ENs that will follow up on these TS are currently under development and are expected to be published in 2024 and 2025.
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Fertilisers market observatory

Market data


Reports

The fertilisers market observatory expert group meets at least twice a year. A summary report is published after each meeting.
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