The conflict in the Middle East has led to a reduction in fertilizer supplies, causing a sharp rise in prices worldwide. Spot prices for urea, the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer, have jumped nearly 40% to $700 per ton since the start of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

The cost of fertilizer raw materials has risen sharply since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, as a third of global urea production and about a quarter of global ammonia trade, both essential for fertilizer production, come from the Persian Gulf. Fertilizers account for up to 25% of the cost of agricultural production.