Statement on impact of conflict in Middle East on fertiliser:
Last updated:12pm 1 April 2026
We’re confident we will have the volume of nutrients required to meet our customers’ usual autumn needs. Most of this product is already in New Zealand, and remaining shipments are due soon.
Volumes are currently unaffected by the Middle East conflict.
We have already seen significant price increases leading into this conflict which we had held off from passing on to our customers before this conflict began.
Fertiliser commodity prices have increased sharply on the back of the conflict.
Autumn nutrient pricing is affected by global price increases as upcoming shipments are mostly subject to pricing at time of shipment.
While we recently increased prices for some products, we have not yet passed on the full impact of the increases resulting from both domestic supply chain costs (transport) and the escalation in fertiliser commodity prices currently being seen across the globe.
As a commodity, fertiliser pricing experiences movements similar to the imported oil market.
Significant volumes of nutrient commodities are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran.
Disruptions to Middle East shipping routes affect shipping times and freight costs driving increased demand for nutrients from other regions, noting that Chinese export controls for Urea, NPKs, NPs, and DAP/MAP remain in place and were recently expanded to include SSP and DSP. All of these factors impact, supply, demand and price across the sector.
We’re encouraging our customers to work with their Nutrient Specialists to plan ahead. Thinking ahead and creating a plan early will help us make sure we have what they need, when they need it.
Spring supply
We’re also working on spring supply. We’ve built extra resilience into our supply chain through longer lead times, sourcing from multiple regions, building strong relationships and monitoring the market closely. We are also securing contingency volumes for selected products and will keep customers updated as the situation evolves.
Most of our products are subject to price at time of shipment. Once our spring supply is contracted, we will have a better idea of price, noting that for most of our products this will depend on the market at the time and movements in shipping and supply chain costs.
Local urea manufacturing
The uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East highlights how critical local resilience is for New Zealand. In an increasingly uncertain global environment, secure access to fertiliser matters for farmers and for the wider economy.
Ballance's Kapuni gas-to-urea plant manufactures approximately one third of New Zealand’s urea annually.
Kapuni relies on local gas supply to operate, and short-term supply has been secured through to the end of June this year. We remain active in the gas market, and through ongoing engagement across the sector, we’re becoming more assured about the likelihood of securing longer-term supply.
Our priority remains very much on maintaining locally manufactured nutrients as part of the nutrient supply mix and preserving future options.
