Gulf Urea Output Drops With Lack of Fertilizer Ships to Load
A worker passes a pile of urea pellets at a storage facility.
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/BloombergMore than half of the Middle East’s urea output may have been lost since the start of the Iran conflict, which is continuing to disrupt fertilizer flows from the region and threatening global food inflation.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked shipments of urea, a key component in nitrogen fertilizers, leaving large volumes stranded in the Gulf and tightening supplies for farmers around the world. At the same time, Iranian drone attacks on nations including Qatar and Bahrain have damaged energy and industrial infrastructure, hindering production of the chemical itself.