In India, fears of fertilizer shortages have led crowds of desperate farmers to gather outside government distribution centers and clash with police. Port delays and high freight fees - plant food is bulky stuff - have added to costs.Īll of this is rippling around the world in unexpected and sometimes painful ways. Western sanctions on Belarus have hit that nation’s production of potash, the key ingredient in another fertilizer. Hurricane Ida drove several large chemical plants to suspend operations when it tore through the U.S. In China’s case, an energy crunch led some areas to ration electricity, which forced fertilizer factories to slash production. The industrial kind is made through a century-old process that turns natural gas or gas derived from coal into ammonia, which is then used to synthesize urea.īut a freakish confluence of other factors is pushing up prices as well.Ĭhina and Russia, two of the biggest producers, have restricted exports to ensure supplies for their own farmers. The urea in your urine is produced in the liver. One big reason for surging fertilizer prices is surging prices of coal and natural gas. Prices of two other widely used plant foods are skyrocketing as well. The coronavirus pandemic has caused huge numbers of people to face hunger, and increased food prices could cause even more to have trouble meeting basic dietary needs. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s index of food prices is already at its highest level since 2011. Urea is an important type of agricultural fertilizer, so rising prices could ultimately mean higher costs at dinner tables around the world. In South Korea, it meant truck drivers couldn’t start their engines. In India, a lack of urea has made farmers fear for their livelihoods. People and industries of all kinds are feeling the shocks.

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