Wheat futures rose more than 1% to about $5.94 per bushel in late March, as farmers scaled back plantings amid mounting concerns over fertilizer supplies. In Australia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, growers are reducing acreage because the availability and cost of key crop nutrients have become increasingly uncertain against the backdrop of the protracted war in the Middle East.
The situation has been further strained by disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global fertilizer trade. These bottlenecks have driven prices higher and constrained access for farmers worldwide. As a result, many producers now face the twin pressures of rising input costs and historically weak wheat prices, compounded by ample global inventories—market headwinds that predated the current geopolitical turmoil but have been sharply intensified by it.
