Escalating war in the West Asia has shut down fertiliser plants in the region and severely disrupted shipping routes, potentially curbing supplies to key Asian importers just as farmers gear up for their major cereal planting season. The world’s most populous countries, India and China, as well as key farm product exporters Australia and Indonesia could face pressure on supplies of plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers, traders and importers said.
Shipments from the West Asia are likely to drop not only because transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about one-third of global trade for the nutrients, has all but stopped, but also due to cuts in production.Qatar Energy has had to stop production, opens new tab at the world’s largest single-site urea plant, as it lost its source of natural gas feedstock after the company shut down gas output due to attacks on its LNG facilities.
