The closure of the Strait of Hormuz will impact the global fertilizers market as more fertilizers traverse the straits on the way to the international market than hydrocarbons do.

The straits were closed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on March 2 and reportedly no ships are currently moving in the tight bottleneck that sees a large share of the world’s energy and commodities pass through on the way to customers around the globe.

With nearly half of global sulphur flows and close to a third of urea shipments moving through the corridor the impact of the conflict will reverberate around the world.

Roughly 44% of globally traded sulphur, a critical input for phosphate fertilisers, passes through the strait. The route also handles about 31% of urea flows, 18% of ammonia shipments and 15% of phosphates, according to industry estimates. That compares to a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG that is shipped from Gulf producers to worldwide customers.

Any disruption to maritime traffic in the corridor has immediate implications for fertiliser supply chains and farm input costs everywhere.

Sulphur is primarily produced as a by-product of oil and gas processing in Gulf states, making exports heavily dependent on uninterrupted energy production and shipping. Urea and ammonia, both nitrogen-based fertilisers, are widely used in staple crop production including wheat, maize and rice, while phosphates are essential for maintaining soil fertility.

The concentration of these exports in the Gulf region means that a halt to exports via the Strait of Hormuz can quickly translate into price volatility. Fertiliser markets are already sensitive to energy prices, as natural gas is a key feedstock for ammonia and urea production. Disruptions to transport routes add an additional layer of risk.

Agricultural producers in major importing regions such as south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America rely on steady fertiliser supplies to sustain crop yields. Higher fertiliser prices can feed through into food inflation, particularly in countries dependent on imports.