When the war with Iran started, one of the top economic concerns globally was the slowdown of oil shipments.But there was another critical export that got stuck in the region when hostilities began: fertilizer.Before the war, around one-third of the world's fertilizer transported by sea passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to UN Trade and Development.
The waterway has become a shipping chokepoint in recent months.With the strait closed, fertilizer shipments from the Persian Gulf slumped and prices rose, affecting countries all around the world that import fertilizer.The war also created a global shortage of natural gas, a key component in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing.It caused a massive headache for U.S.
farmers who were hit with higher fertilizer prices and limited availability just as they were deciding what to plant for the upcoming growing season.But the costs borne by farmers don't necessarily get passed on to consumers, and food system experts say they're unlikely to have a major impact on the retail prices of fruit and vegetables."Consumers are going to see higher food prices come September to January, once harvests start coming in, and the few months thereafter," said Chris Barrett, a professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University."Very little of that is going to be directly attributable to fertilizer."That's because food inflation is generally driven by larger factors affecting multiple parts of the food supply chain, such as fewer workers and high fuel costs.About one-third of the fertilizer used by U.S.
farmers is imported, according to The Fertilizer Institute, an industry trade group.TFI Vice President of Public Affairs Christopher Glen said little of that comes through the Strait of Hormuz."But we get impacted in a big way because the fertilizer market is global," Glen said over email.
"Even if those tons from the Mideast aren't coming to the US, they are still tons that have been removed from the market and need to be mad...