Winter wheat should now be receiving its second application of nitrogen, sugar beet is waiting to be sown and rapeseed is waiting for its last fertiliser application before flowering. March is an extremely important time for agriculture. But now, of all times, fertiliser markets are coming under pressure.
Since the US attacks on Iran at the end of February, the Strait of Hormuz - the strait at the exit of the Persian Gulf through which around a third of the global fertilizer trade passes - has been blocked. Important producer countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar can no longer ship their urea and ammonia supplies as planned.
