Farmers are warning President Donald Trump that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could send fertilizer prices higher as planting season starts, potentially leading to higher food prices for consumers.
The American Farm Bureau Federation in a letter to Trump said prices for fuel and fertilizer have increased rapidly since Iran closed the Strait. Ships move 30% of fertilizer inputs such as phosphate and urea and finished fertilizer, and 20% of crude oil from the Persian Gulf, to global markets including the United States.
Citing a “generational decline in farm income driven by out-of-control inflation and dramatically declining crop prices,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall in the letter said the maritime transit disruptions and energy shutdowns among Gulf nations “will affect the price and availability of many downstream products farmers depend upon. These supply chain shocks are expected to drive already record-high input prices even higher at a time when farm margins are already extremely tight and many farmers are underwater.”
Duvall called on Trump to prioritize the delivery of fertilizer ingredients or risk a shortfall in crops.
“Not only is this a threat to our food security – and by extension our national security – such a production shock could contribute to inflationary pressures across the U.S. economy,” he said.
The group called for U.S. Navy escorts for vessels hauling fertilizer in the Strait – a move already rejected as too dangerous by the Pentagon – and to work with other nations to maintain open shipping lanes.
The farmers also urged Trump to facilitate insurance coverage for shipping, and ensure domestic port, rail, and barge capacity to speed deliveries. They joined other businesses calling for a waiver of the Jones Act requiring cargo moving between domestic ports to be carried by U.S.-flag vessels, something Trump is reportedly considering for fuel transportation.
The group also asked Trump to temporarily suspend countervailing duties on imported fertilizer products, to hold down prices.
“We are deeply concerned that failure to act could lead to disruptions to the food supply chain not seen since 2022 when food price inflation reached 40- year highs,” Duvall said.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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