AnswersPublished19 sources
How the Strait of Hormuz Closure Is Disrupting Fertilizer and Food Supply Chains
More than six months of disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has turned into a sulfur feedstock crisis: elemental sulfur exports reportedly fell about 33%, leaving phosphate fertilizer production constrained even as nit... The Gulf normally supplies about half of traded sulfur, and sulfur shortages have contributed to...
Published byEdited with GPT-5.6 TerraImages generated with GPT Image 2
Research answer
Key takeaways
- More than six months of disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has turned into a sulfur feedstock crisis: elemental sulfur exports reportedly fell about 33%, leaving phosphate fertilizer production constrained even as nit...
- The Gulf normally supplies about half of traded sulfur, and sulfur shortages have contributed to phosphate curtailments at Mosaic and lower 2026 DAP guidance from Ma’aden.
- The key risk is no longer just freight access. Export restrictions and the threat of disruption at another maritime chokepoint could prolong shortages, raise farm input costs, and delay a broader fertilizer market rec...
AI Prompt
openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How has the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for more than six months disrupted global fertilizer and agricultural supply chains in 2026, par. Article summary: The disruption has become a fertilizer-feedstock crisis rather than simply a shipping delay: the near-halt of Gulf flows removed a large share of traded sulfur, constraining phosphate fertilizer production even where pho. Topic tags: general, general web, user generated, education, news. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermark
The 2026 Strait of Hormuz disruption has become more than a shipping problem. It has removed critical fertilizer inputs from trade—especially elemental sulfur—and created a bottleneck in phosphate fertilizer production. The result is a split market: nitrogen has eased from its initial shock, while phosphate remains constrained by the physical availability and cost of sulfur. 1
19
Why sulfur became the critical bottleneck
Fertilizer shipments from the Persian Gulf remained largely halted more than six months after the disruption began, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute. Its analysis reported an approximately 33% decline in elemental-sulfur exports, with exceptionally steep losses from Gulf suppliers. 1
That matters because the Gulf is not simply another origin. S&P Global Ratings estimates the Persian Gulf accounts for about half of globally traded sulfur supply. 8 Sulfur is processed into sulfuric acid, which is indispensable for turning phosphate rock into phosphoric acid and then fertilizers such as DAP and MAP. When sulfur cannot be shipped or is priced beyond workable levels, phosphate capacity can sit idle even when plants, phosphate rock, and customers are available.
13
19
The shock was visible in prices and trade. S&P Global reported sulfur at all-time highs in late May, including about $1,200 per metric ton delivered to Brazil, after roughly half of seaborne sulfur exports were trapped behind Hormuz. 11 IFPRI also found global phosphate exports, measured in phosphorus equivalents, were more than 9% lower in January–June 2026 than a year earlier.
1
Production cuts show how a feedstock shortage reaches farms
Mosaic reduced phosphate operations at selected North American and Brazilian facilities as sulfur inventories declined and raw-material availability tightened. 6 Earlier, the company had temporarily halted phosphate-rock mining and chemical-complex operations in Brazil amid the sulfur squeeze.
11
The pressure was not limited to Mosaic. Ma’aden cut its 2026 DAP production guidance to 6.0–6.5 million tonnes after a 28% second-quarter decline in DAP output, while Mosaic reported a $104 million operating loss in its phosphate segment. 7 These are important signals because they show the disruption moving through the chain—from seaborne sulfur to sulfuric acid, phosphate processing, fertilizer availability, and eventually farm purchasing decisions.
Export restrictions made replacement supply harder to find
A shipping disruption is easier to manage when alternative suppliers can increase exports. In 2026, that adjustment was weakened by policy restrictions elsewhere.
Russia’s industrial-sulfur export ban and China’s sulfuric-acid export ban compounded the Gulf shortage, according to Kpler’s market analysis. 13 India also suspended sulfur exports in July, though market reporting indicated the immediate volume effect was likely limited because exports had already slowed sharply after the Middle East conflict began.
5
These actions prioritize domestic industrial and fertilizer users, but collectively they reduce the pool of material available to import-dependent phosphate producers. The supplied evidence does not provide sufficiently reliable detail to quantify the separate impact of Kazakhstan’s reported sulfur-export suspension, so it should not be treated as a measured share of the global shortage here.
Why nitrogen recovered faster than phosphate
Nitrogen fertilizers were hit hard at first because the Gulf is a major source of urea and ammonia. Urea prices surged rapidly after the disruption, but later eased as non-Gulf supply responded and demand adjusted. 1
17
19
Phosphate has proved less flexible. Its production requires sulfur or sulfuric acid, and those inputs remain tight because the shortage is tied to both transport access and export controls. Reuters reported in September that phosphate-based fertilizer prices had not retreated in the same way as urea because sulfur, a key production input, remained expensive. 19
This distinction is crucial for buyers: a general decline in fertilizer-market stress does not necessarily mean phosphate availability or affordability has normalized. Global nitrogen and phosphate exports may show similar aggregate declines in the first half of 2026, but the mechanisms—and therefore the recovery paths—are different. 1
The food-security risk: lower application, weaker future yields
Fertilizer scarcity reaches food markets with a lag. Farmers facing high prices or unreliable deliveries may defer purchases, reduce application rates, or shift nutrient plans. That can weaken yields in later planting and harvest cycles, particularly in countries that depend heavily on imports and have limited ability to absorb higher input costs. 1
19
The exposure extends beyond fertilizer trade itself. South Asian producers, including those in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, rely heavily on imported Gulf gas, leaving them vulnerable to higher feedstock costs or supply curtailments. Europe’s nitrogen producers also sit relatively high on the global cost curve, making them vulnerable when gas prices rise. 13
A second chokepoint would magnify the cost of disruption
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a separate risk rather than a confirmed explanation for the Hormuz-driven sulfur shortage. But any sustained threat to shipping through the Red Sea gateway would create a second logistics problem: longer routes, tighter vessel availability, higher fuel use, higher insurance premiums, and more expensive freight.
For fertilizer buyers, this matters because a cargo must still reach its destination after it has found a source. A simultaneous problem at Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb would therefore raise delivered costs for fertilizer, grain, energy, and other commodities—while making supply schedules less reliable.
What policy responses are emerging
The clearest reported responses have focused on securing domestic supply. India’s sulfur-export suspension is an example of a defensive availability measure, even if its immediate impact on traded volume was limited. 5 Brazil is directly exposed through the production curtailments at Mosaic’s Brazilian operations.
6
11
The source material reviewed does not substantiate a specific new EU-wide financial package or a distinct Brazilian federal emergency-finance program tied to this disruption. What the evidence does support is a broader supply-security agenda:
- diversify sulfur, sulfuric-acid, and finished-fertilizer sourcing;
- maintain inventories for critical fertilizer inputs;
- expand domestic and recycled nutrient capacity where viable;
- improve nutrient-use efficiency so farmers can protect yields with less input; and
- target liquidity or fertilizer support to vulnerable growers rather than rely on broad, open-ended price subsidies.
The core lesson is that fertilizer resilience depends on more than production capacity. It depends on access to a small number of critical feedstocks, the routes that move them, and whether exporters keep those materials available to global markets. In 2026, sulfur became the point where those vulnerabilities converged. 1
8
13
Studio Global AI
Continue your research
This page includes a source-backed answer you can continue inside Studio Global.
People also ask
What is the short answer to "How the Strait of Hormuz Closure Is Disrupting Fertilizer and Food Supply Chains"?
More than six months of disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has turned into a sulfur feedstock crisis: elemental sulfur exports reportedly fell about 33%, leaving phosphate fertilizer production constrained even as nit...
What are the key points to validate first?
More than six months of disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has turned into a sulfur feedstock crisis: elemental sulfur exports reportedly fell about 33%, leaving phosphate fertilizer production constrained even as nit... The Gulf normally supplies about half of traded sulfur, and sulfur shortages have contributed to phosphate curtailments at Mosaic and lower 2026 DAP guidance from Ma’aden.
What should I do next in practice?
The key risk is no longer just freight access. Export restrictions and the threat of disruption at another maritime chokepoint could prolong shortages, raise farm input costs, and delay a broader fertilizer market rec...