Prices for urea, a key ingredient in the world’s fertilizer supplies, have surged globally alongside escalating violence in the Middle East.
The recent strikes between Israel and Iran are interfering with the flow of urea supplies from one of the highest-producing regions in the world. Almost half of the world’s urea exports are sourced from manufacturing facilities located along the Persian Gulf. Iran and Egypt have already lowered production.
Josh Linville, Vice President of Fertilizer with StoneX, says the world lost its number three and four urea exporters in the world with that reduction. Those two countries were responsible for 20 percent of the global urea trade in 2024.
One of the most commonly used nitrogen fertilizers, urea provides one of the vital nutrients that make global food production possible. U.S. Gulf urea spot prices, a global price benchmark, rose approximately 16 percent in the past week. Middle East prices also rallied 11 percent last week.
CLICK BELOW for additional analysis from Josh Linville with StoneX:
