The United Nations has proposed a dedicated shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz to move fertiliser cargoes currently stuck amid regional tensions involving Iran and the US. According to the plan, the corridor could be operational within 10 days of any US-Iran agreement, with an initial target of around five vessels per day.
The proposal highlights how fertiliser flows through the Strait, a critical chokepoint for both energy and nutrient trade, remain hostage to broader geopolitical negotiations. With no deal yet in place, the corridor has not launched, and the UN has flagged that continued delay risks missing planting windows in key agricultural regions, which would compound existing supply tightness.
For fertiliser traders and buyers, the situation reinforces the risk premium already embedded in prices for nitrogen and phosphate products sourced from or transiting the Gulf. A prolonged stall would tighten availability further into the season, while any sudden deal and corridor activation could trigger a rapid release of pent-up cargoes and price volatility in the opposite direction.
Related on gidex.com: urea supply · DAP supply · the fertiliser desk
Original note by GIDEX Group based on reporting by Fertilizer Daily. Written up by the GIDEX market desk — see how these notes are made. Not investment advice.
Mosaic lays off 199 workers at South Fort Meade as sulfur shortages force a six-month-plus idling of phosphate operations.
China's phosphate exports plunged from 5.3mt in 2025 to almost nil as sulfur shortages bite, keeping phosphate the priciest major nutrient; Argus sees 2mt rebound.
Record tanker rates from Middle East tensions are trapping heavy crude in North/South America, while Asia and Europe face heavy grade shortages.