Fertiliser is in short supply. What does it mean for Australia’s farmers – and your bread?

Australia is more vulnerable to fertiliser disruption than fuel. Experts say the impact depends on how long the strait of Hormuz is shut Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The US-Israel war on Iran is delivering a double blow to Australian farmers, who are being hit by the spike in diesel prices as well as an equally severe surge in the price of fertiliser. Soaring fuel costs are hurting almost every business and household but growers are now making decisions about planting that will affect the size of their crops come harvest time. So why are we experiencing this fertiliser squeeze, how much worse could it get, and what does it all mean for farmers and the price of food? A fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strait of Hormuz, which has essentially been shut since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February. But the share of world supply of urea – the most popular commonly used fertiliser – that typically passed through the strait before the conflict was more than twice that, at 43%. For sulphur – used to produce phosphate fertilisers – the