War Hangs Over American Farmers as Fertilizer Prices Rise

One of the largest fertilizer companies in the world, the Mosaic Company, is losing money because a small amount of a specific ingredient is stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mosaic makes phosphorus fertilizer, which contains sulfur and ammonia. The war in Iran has disrupted the world’s supply of sulfur, a fifth of which travels through the strait. The price Mosaic receives for one ton of fertilizer is about $800, and half that cost — before processing, shipping and labor — now goes just to acquiring sulfur.

“If we’re losing money every ton, the total losses can mount quickly,” Ben Pratt, Mosaic’s vice president of public affairs, said in an interview. Mosaic lost $258 million in its quarter ending March 30, and said it would slow production at some of its plants. Even as the United States and Iran reached a preliminary agreement on Sunday to end the war that has roiled the region since March, it would take months for ship traffic and supply chains to return to normal, and years for destroyed energy and fertilizer infrastructure to be rebuilt.

A full reopening of the strait will eventually cause fertilizer prices to fall, but they will remain above their prewar levels for years to come, said Shawn Arita, an agricultural economist at North Dakota State University.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/business/fertilizer-farming-iran.html