Fertilizer prices were already elevated before hostilities broke out between the U.S. and Iran, but since then, input prices have reached even new heights due to supply chain issues in the Strait of Hormuz. Corey Rosenbusch, President and CEO of the Fertilizer Institute, says fertilizer issues have taken on a life of their own.
“I was at an annual physical the other day, and the doctor asked me if I had any stress in my life, and I just kind of giggled, and he said, “What? I said, “Well, I work in the fertilizer industry. He said, “Oh man, you guys are really getting hit hard right now. So, when your nurse and your doctors are starting to hear about fertilizer in mainstream media. I guess you know that it is a big topic.”
About a third of the world’s urea, 20 percent of the phosphate, and more than half of the sulfur moves through the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked by Iran since March 2nd. Unfortunately, says Rosenbusch, there are no simple nor quick answers to bringing those prices back down.
“Even if the Strait were opened today, we are not sure of what the damage has been to a lot of these production plants, some of them had to be taken down because there’s no natural gas to run them. In other cases, we do know there has been physical damage due to drone strikes or missile strikes on those facilities. So, this isn’t purely an open the straight and the product’s going to start flowing and the market’s going to return to normal.”
Rosenbusch says it could take months or even years to return to normal production in that region.