WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — Fertilizer prices were already climbing before the conflict involving Iran disrupted global shipping routes, according to leaders within the fertilizer industry.
Now, concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are adding even more pressure to already strained global nutrient markets.
The Fertilizer Institute President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch says fertilizer shortages and rising prices have become significant enough to break into mainstream conversations well beyond agriculture.
“I was at an annual physical the other day, and the doctor asked me if I had any stress in my life, and I just kind of giggled, and he said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Well, I work in the fertilizer industry.’ He said, ‘Oh man, you guys are really getting hit hard right now.’ So, when your nurse and your doctors are starting to hear about fertilizer in mainstream media, I guess you know that it is a big topic.”
Industry groups say roughly one-third of the world’s urea, 20 percent of global phosphate supplies and more than half of sulfur shipments move through the Strait of Hormuz, which has faced major disruptions since early March.
Rosenbusch says even if shipping routes reopen immediately, fertilizer markets may not recover quickly because of damage already done to production infrastructure throughout the region.
“Even if the Strait were opened today, we are not sure of what the damage has been to a lot of these production plants, some of them had to be taken down because there’s no natural gas to run them. In other cases, we do know there has been physical damage due to drone strikes or missile strikes on those facilities. So, this isn’t purely an open the strait and the product’s going to start flowing and the market’s going to return to normal.”
Rosenbusch says restoring normal fertilizer production and supply movement across the region could ultimately take months or even years.
