Strait of Hormuz Crisis Disrupts Fertilizer Trade, Sparking Food Price Fears

Shipping disruptions and plant shutdowns hit fertilizer supply as analysts warn industry is ‘in paralysis’ and say ‘full implications are not yet known.’

Laborers load sacks of fertilizer onto a truck at a railway station in Amritsar, India, on Sept. 25, 2025. Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shocked global fertilizer markets just as farmers worldwide prepare to plant spring crops, raising concerns that the disruption could ripple through food supply chains.

Several major fertilizer-producing countries in the Gulf rely on the narrow shipping channel to move products to global markets.