The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has said it believes lack of competition may be contributing to disproportionately higher price increases for green diesel compared with white diesel.

Questions are raised about whether recent green diesel price rises can be fully justified by movements in wholesale fuel markets alone, the association said.

The average price of green diesel recorded its largest monthly increase since March 2026 during July, prompting renewed concerns about pricing practices within the fuel supply chain, the FCI highlighted.

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According to the latest FCI agri-diesel price index, average green diesel prices continued to climb throughout July, even as white diesel prices eased and, in some cases, returned to below their pre-war levels.

While white diesel remains more expensive overall because of road taxes and duties, its price has fallen steadily in recent months.

On the other hand, green diesel prices have remained at an all-time high, widening the gap between wholesale market trends and what agricultural users are paying.

Small number of suppliers

For farm contractors, green diesel is not an optional cost – instead, it is an essential input that powers a wide range of agricultural operations.

Unlike motorists though, contractors purchase fuel in bulk and therefore often have little choice over where they source their fuel, with many rural areas served by only a small number of suppliers, the FCI said.

“While white diesel prices fell back below pre-war levels at many filling stations during July, green diesel never returned to pre-war levels. That is difficult for contractors to understand and accept, especially given that both fuels originate from the same base product,” FCI national chair Norman Egar said.

"The only real difference is that agricultural diesel contains a marker dye. There is no obvious justification for the scale of the price volatility we have experienced in recent months. Contractors, who depend on diesel every day to provide essential services to farmers, deserve greater transparency around how these prices are determined.”

The FCI is calling for greater scrutiny and transparency in the agricultural fuel market to ensure that green diesel prices accurately reflect underlying wholesale costs and that farm contractors are not disproportionately bearing the burden of unjustified price increases.