War in Iran Causing Massive Fertilizer Shortages, Farmers Say

Farmers are reporting massive shortages in fertilizer due to the US-Iran War, leading to issues during planting season, and rising diesel prices are also impacting food costs.

Urea, one of the most crucial fertilizer products, is the worst-affected by the war. Around 46% of the world's urea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, coming from major producers like Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Now, those urea exports are blocked from passing through the strait, effectively trapping it in the Gulf.

Both countries possess extensive natural gas resources, which they can leverage using the Haber-Bosch process to produce urea. This process, invented in the early 1900s, turns natural gas into hydrogen before raising it to a high temperature and adding nitrogen to the mix, producing ammonia. This ammonia is then synthesized with carbon dioxide to produce urea, which is used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer to improve soil fertility and amplify crop yields.

Now, as the planting season draws closer, the farming industry is facing a urea shortage, leading to skyrocketing prices. Urea prices have increased more than 50% since the beginning of the war, and that rise in cost will trickle down to consumers all over the world.

Furthermore, diesel prices have also jumped, with the average price for one gallon of diesel in the US rising further to $5.39. One month ago, that number was just $3.76. Rising diesel prices mean that farms will need to pay more to ship their goods to supermarkets and distribution centers– another additional cost that consumers will bear the brunt of.

Prices of groceries are expected to rise all over the world in the coming weeks, and extended urea shortages could force farmers to plant less during the coming spring. This would lead to a significant decrease in crop yield, heavily impacting food supplies across the globe. Consumers in nations like the US, Brazil, and India are expected to take the hardest hit due to their reliance on Middle Eastern fertilizer, but the shortages will likely affect the entire world.

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