Farmers around the world are facing fertilizer shortages and rising costs after the war in Iran disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a third of global fertilizer trade. Rising natural gas prices are also driving up costs just as planting in the Northern Hemisphere begins.
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Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forChallenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here's how to do itJury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in a landmark social media addiction trialSarah Mullally celebrated as the Church of England's first female leader, in photosVenezuela pide a Trump que levante las sanciones para impulsar la inversión extranjera Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forChallenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here's how to do itJury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in a landmark social media addiction trialSarah Mullally celebrated as the Church of England's first female leader, in photosVenezuela pide a Trump que levante las sanciones para impulsar la inversión extranjeraFarmers around the world are running short of fertilizer because of the war in Iran, which could make food more expensive later this year.A bag of fertilizer is ready to be used on Elizabeth Wangua’s land in Limuru, Kenya Wednesday, March 25, 2026. A cargo ship carrying vehicles sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Farmers around the world are running short of fertilizer because of the war in Iran, which could make food more expensive later this year.A bag of fertilizer is ready to be used on Elizabeth Wangua’s land in Limuru, Kenya Wednesday, March 25, 2026. A bag of fertilizer is ready to be used on Elizabeth Wangua’s land in Limuru, Kenya Wednesday, March 25, 2026. A cargo ship carrying vehicles sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 22, 2026. A cargo ship carrying vehicles sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 22, 2026. HANOI, Vietnam — Farmers around the world are feeling the squeeze of the Iran war. Gas prices have shot up and fertilizer supplies are waning due to Tehran’s near shutdown of the, and the shortage comes just as planting season begins, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program. “In the worst case, this means lower yields and crop failures next season. In the best case, higher input costs will be included in food prices next year.” Baldev Singh, a 55-year-old rice farmer in Punjab, India, says smallholders — the bulk of the country’s farmers — may not survive if the government cannot subsidize fertilizers when demand peaks in June.Nitrogen and phosphate — two major fertilizer nutrients — are under immediate threat from the blockade. Supplies of nitrogen including urea, the most widely traded fertilizer that helps plants grow and boosts yields, are the hardest hit because of shipping delays and the soaring price of The conflict has restricted about 30% of global urea trade, said Chris Lawson of CRU Group, a London-based commodities consultancy. Some countries are already facing critical shortages, according to Raj Patel, a food systems economist at the University of Texas. For example, Ethiopia gets over 90% of its nitrogen fertilizer from the Gulf through Djibouti, a supply route that was strained even before the war began in February.Phosphate supplies, which support root development, are also under pressure. Saudi Arabia produces about a fifth of the world’s phosphate fertilizer, and the region exports more than 40% of the world’s sulfur, a key ingredient and byproduct of oil and gas refining, Lawson said. Even after the war ends, producers in the Gulf would need clear security guarantees before resuming shipments through the strait, and insurance costs would almost certainly rise, said Owen Gooch, an analyst with London-based Argus Consulting Services. In India, the government has prioritized urea supplies for domestic use and provides fertilizer manufacturers with about 70% of their natural gas needs. Some plants are still running below capacity, leading to lower output. “The food system is fragile, and it depends on stable fertilizer supply chains to ensure farmers can produce the food the world relies on,” said Hanna Opsahl-Ben Ammar of Yara International, one of the world’s largest fertilizer companies.Fertilizers are generally applied just before or at planting, so crops miss key early growth stages and yields can fall when deliveries are delayed, even if supplies improve later.and Europe, where the main planting season is underway, and it is expected to hit the first planting season in much of Asia in the coming months. “Our crops out in the field need nitrogen now — the sooner the better — so they can get off to a good start, helping them establish themselves and build up reserves for the harvest later this summer,” said Dirk Peters, an agricultural engineer who runs a farm outside Berlin., but grain prices were higher then, helping farmers absorb the costs, said Joseph Glauber of the International Food Policy Research Institute. Grain prices are lower now meaning margins are tighter and farmers may have to switch to less fertilizer-intensive crops — such as soybeans in the U.S. — or apply less fertilizer, reducing yields. Lower yields can lead to higher consumer prices. Other nations likely won’t make up the shortfall. China, the world’s largest producer of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, is prioritizing domestic supply, and urea shipments probably won’t resume until May, Lawson said. Plants in Russia, another major producer, are already running near full capacity, he said.The disruptions are already being felt across Africa, where many farmers rely on fertilizer imported from the Middle East and Russia.have left farmers with about a week of dry weather to prepare fields and apply fertilizer, said Stephen Muchiri, a Kenya maize farmer and CEO of the Eastern African Farmers Federation, which represents 25 million smallholders. Fertilizer shortages and price hikes hit farmers hard, forcing them to use less and leading to reduced yields. Even short delays can reduce maize yields by about 4% in a season, Patel said, citing research from Zambia. Governments can intervene by applying subsidies, promoting domestic production and controlling exports. India already subsidizes fertilizer to ease the financial strain on farmers, but those subsidies leave less money for long-term farming investments. It has budgeted $12.7 billion this year for urea subsidies alone, according to the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Efforts to produce domestic urea have increased India’s dependence on imported gas, and excessive urea use has harmed local soil, said Purva Jain of IEEFA, who supports the use of organic fertilizers. Less reliance on imported fertilizers could protect farmers and consumers from energy price swings and climate shocks, said Oliver Oliveros, executive coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’sGhosal covers the intersection of business and climate change in southeast Asia for The Associated Press. He is based out of Hanoi in Vietnam.Live updates: Trump delays Strait of Hormuz deadline as Wall Street has biggest loss of war
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