Hormuz Crisis Squeezes the Fertilizer and Petrochemical Chain; World Bank Warns of Urea Price Jump

The disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, which flared again this week with the escalation between the United States and Iran, is also keeping the global fertilizer market under pressure. Nitrogen fertilizers (urea), whose production depends on natural gas, have roughly doubled since the Hormuz disruption began in late February, and in April 2026 urea passed 850 dollars per tonne, the highest level since April 2022.

Persian Gulf and West Asian countries supply close to one-quarter of the world's urea exports, and Hormuz is the main route for those shipments. During the war, Iran has halted its ammonia production, and Qatar has suspended production of urea, ammonia and sulfur after damage to facilities. The World Bank has warned that, if the Hormuz disruption persists, global fertilizer prices could rise by more than 30 percent in 2026.

The relevance for Iran cuts both ways: Iran is a significant exporter of urea and petrochemical products, and the production halts and export disruption affect both the country's foreign-currency revenue and its listed petrochemical companies.