Israel Launches 12-Day War Against Iran, Driving Fertilizer And Pesticide Price Surges

A 12-day war launched by the Zionist regime against Iran on 23 Khordad 1404 is described by خبرگزاری مهر as having rising impacts on the global agricultural supply chain markets, with developments “immediately affecting global commodity markets.”

“How the Middle East crisis is expanding China’s agrochemical influence China accounts for about a third of global fertiliser production, and 70 per cent of the raw materials for chemical pesticides As the Middle East conflict spreads uncertainty among farmers around the world, Chinese farmers are carrying out their spring ploughing as usual and appear largely untroubled”

South China Morning Post

Mehr News Agency says that on 24 Khordad crude oil prices rose by 7 percent to 74.23 dollars per barrel for Brent and 72.98 dollars for U.S. crude, and it links the move to increases in prices of fertilizers and pesticides.

South China Morning Post

The same Mehr account ties the market volatility to the Middle East’s role in energy and fertilizer production, stating that “the Middle East's role in energy and fertilizer production intensifies market fluctuations.”

It also warns that fears of a broader regional conflict could disrupt “vital shipping lanes and energy supply,” raising the prospect of “war-time premia” and ripple effects across the global fertilizer market.

Mehr further emphasizes that the Strait of Hormuz is central to the risk picture, saying that through it “20 million barrels of oil per day, one-fifth of the world’s supply, and a quarter of global LNG pass.”

In that framing, the increased risk in the Strait of Hormuz leads to “sharp rises in the prices of pesticides, fertilizers,” which in turn raises production costs for sugarcane in Brazil and India.

The article also states that Iran’s urea industry has historically been stable and competitively priced due to natural gas reserves, but that “the recent intensification of the Israel conflict threatens this vital supply chain and raises concerns about global access to fertilizer and its price.”

The South China Morning Post frames the Middle East crisis as expanding China’s agrochemical influence by highlighting China’s role in both fertilizer production and pesticide inputs.

It says China “accounts for about a third of global fertiliser production, and 70 per cent of the raw materials for chemical pesticides,” and it links that upstream position to uncertainty among farmers.

Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat

The article reports that Chinese farmers are “carrying out their spring ploughing as usual and appear largely untroubled,” citing an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs who said, “The supply of chemical fertilisers for spring ploughing is ample.”

That same official added that domestic fertiliser prices were “far lower than international prices” and that “spring sowing was proceeding as normal.”

The Post also connects China’s leverage to shipping constraints, stating that analysts said China’s production prowess gave it “a greater say,” especially as Iran and the United States continued to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

It further notes that “Before the US and Israel began military strikes on Iran at the end of February, about one-third of seaborne fertiliser trade passed through the narrow waterway, according to the UN.”

In the Post’s account, Chinese export restrictions become a key mechanism, with analysts at Sublime China Information (SCI) saying, “China’s continued export restrictions, combined with global shortages in urea and phosphate fertilisers, are pushing prices higher and will ultimately affect global food security.”

While the China-focused reporting emphasizes fertilizer supply and agrochemical influence, جريدة البورصة describes how the same Gulf conflict is weighing on agricultural exports through shipping and insurance costs, which can feed back into global input markets.

“Egyptian Exports Egyptian agricultural and food companies have begun to adopt alternative plans to cope with the war currently unfolding in the Gulf region, which is affecting navigation through the Hormuz Strait and the Bab el-Mandeb”

Al-Jarida Al-Borsa

The article says Egyptian agricultural and food companies began adopting alternative plans to cope with “the war currently unfolding in the Gulf region,” which it says is affecting navigation through the Hormuz Strait and the Bab el-Mandeb.

It reports that war repercussions have extended to “freight rates and insurance on ships and shipments,” and it cites experts expecting freight rates to rise by 100% in parallel with the rise in oil prices.

For war-risk insurance premiums for ships and goods transiting the Gulf and the Red Sea, the article says these “have also risen by about 50% according to international reports since the outbreak of the war.”

Mohsen Al-Baltaji, head of the Haya Association for the Development and Promotion of Horticultural Exports, tells Al-Borsa that the ongoing war will have “a direct and indirect impact on trade flow and Egyptian agricultural exports,” and he says Gulf countries will be “negatively affected and noticeably due to disrupted supply chains and higher shipping and insurance costs.”

Al-Baltaji adds that maritime and land shipping costs are likely to rise, and that any rise in fuel prices will automatically lead to higher agricultural production costs, including fertilizers and pesticides.

The piece also quotes Alaa Al-Wakeel, a board member of the Export Council for the Food Industries, saying “freight rates have doubled since the start of air strikes and the closure of the Hormuz Strait,” and it describes state support as a response, with the state urged to provide support for exporters to Gulf countries.

Beyond immediate market disruptions, الشرق الأوسط reports on a scientific breakthrough that could reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a theme that intersects with the fertilizer and pesticide price pressures described elsewhere.

The article says that about six decades ago American geneticist Norman Borlaug, nicknamed the 'Father of the Green Revolution', developed short-statured, high-yielding wheat varieties and helped save more than a billion people from famine, an achievement crowned with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

خبرگزاری مهر

It argues that this success came with an environmental toll because agriculture became overly reliant on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, leading to “tangible environmental degradation.”

The piece describes plants as having a “smart immune system” and says that when the immune system is activated, “growth slows and productivity declines when the immune system is activated,” posing a challenge for staple crops like wheat.

Researchers at Colorado State University are described as discovering a way to activate a hormone so plants can keep growing while defending against disease, with results published in the February 23, 2026 issue of Current Biology.

The article says the team calls the plant’s hormonal network “the 'chemical brain'” and explains that when a plant is stressed, levels of cytokinins drop, but scientists restored cytokinin levels in plants with overactive immunity.

It quotes Dr. Christina Argieso, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University, saying the achievement could be “a leap comparable to the Green Revolution,” and she told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Our team has identified plant genes that raise productivity.”

Taken together, the sources depict a food-security and input-cost landscape where China’s position in fertilizer and pesticide raw materials meets the risk of disrupted shipping and higher prices.

“How the Middle East crisis is expanding China’s agrochemical influence China accounts for about a third of global fertiliser production, and 70 per cent of the raw materials for chemical pesticides As the Middle East conflict spreads uncertainty among farmers around the world, Chinese farmers are carrying out their spring ploughing as usual and appear largely untroubled”

South China Morning Post

خبرگزاری مهر warns that “a prolonged conflict could have deep material impacts on the global economy and on food supply chains.”

South China Morning Post

It also states that “the price of urea, already under pressure from reduced exports in other regions, rose during the 12 days of the war in anticipation of potential market disruptions,” while adding that additional risks include disruptions in shipping routes “especially the Strait of Hormuz.”

The South China Morning Post adds that analysts at Sublime China Information (SCI) expect that “China’s continued export restrictions, combined with global shortages in urea and phosphate fertilisers, are pushing prices higher and will ultimately affect global food security.”

In parallel, جريدة البورصة reports that freight rates and war-risk insurance premiums have risen, with experts expecting freight rates to rise by 100% and insurance premiums by about 50% since the outbreak of the war, and it quotes exporters and company leaders calling for government support.

Mohsen Al-Baltaji says the challenge for exporters is to manage rising costs and maintain stability in exporting markets under unstable international conditions, and he frames the problem as a “difficult equation” for perishable produce.

Even as these pressures mount, the الشرق الأوسط report on the Colorado State University study points to a longer-term pathway to reduce pesticide use through engineered plants with disease resistance, describing a “marked reduction in pesticide use” in trials.