Fertilizer shipments begin exiting through Strait of Hormuz

Fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun picking up following an interim deal to end the Iran war, data shows, though analysts say it will take time before they return to pre-conflict levels and provide relief to the market.

Before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, about a third of globally traded urea — the world’s most widely used fertilizer — and nearly half of seaborne sulphur, a key input, typically flowed through the strait.

The near closure of the critical waterway for most of the conflict, however, sharply reduced those shipments.

Since the deal between Washington and Tehran was announced on June 15, around 640,000 metric tons of sulphur — critical for making fertilizers like diammonium phosphate, or DAP — have left the strait for destinations including Indonesia, Morocco, Tanzania and China, according to the latest analysis of flows by price reporting agency Argus. That compares to a total of just 80,000 tons over the course of the 3-1/2 month war.

Some 427,000 tons of urea, meanwhile, have also transited the strait in the wake of the interim deal, versus 275,000 tons during the war, the latest data from consultants CRU showed.

Shipments of other key fertilizers like phosphates and the fertilizer input ammonia have also edged up post-deal.