The United States and Israel's war around Iran is already causing widespread disruption to fertiliser supplies worldwide. Amid this, China has decided to cut fertiliser exports to protect its domestic market, adding further pressure on global markets, industry sources say.

According to sources who spoke to the British news agency Reuters, Beijing banned exports of nitrogen-potassium fertiliser blends and some phosphate fertilisers in mid-March.

According to the agency, on top of an earlier ban and export quotas on urea, only a handful of fertiliser types, notably ammonium sulphate, can now be exported from China. As a result, between half and three-quarters of what China exported last year is now restricted, which could be as much as 40 million tonnes, according to a Reuters estimate.

China is one of the world's largest fertiliser exporters. Last year it exported fertiliser worth more than $13 billion.

The news of the ban comes as fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have effectively stalled. About a third of all seaborne fertiliser passes through the waterway.

Matthew Biggin, senior commodities analyst at market research firm BMI, told Reuters this is a consistent trend: in global crises China restricts supply rather than increasing it to help. It is prioritising food security and wants to shield its domestic market from price shocks, he said.

The report is based on Al Jazeera.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.