Kathmandu. Industry sources told the Reuters news agency that China is cutting agricultural fertilizer exports to protect its domestic market. This has put more pressure on a global market that is already struggling due to the US-Israel and Iran wars.
In mid-March, Beijing banned exports of nitrogen-potassium fertiliser mixtures and some phosphate variants, sources told Reuters.
According to the news agency, in addition to the existing restrictions and export quotas for urea, only a limited number of fertilizers, especially ammonium sulphate, can now be exported from China. This means that between half and three-quarters of China’s exports last year are now banned. Reuters estimates it could be as high as 40 million metric tons.
China is one of the world’s biggest fertilizer exporters — exporting more than $13 billion worth of fertiliser last year.
The news of the ban comes at a time when the transportation of fertiliser through the Strait of Hormuz has been halted. Shipping through this waterway accounts for about one-third of the total supplies by sea.
Matthew Begin, senior commodities analyst at BMI, told Reuters: “This is the way China has always behaved, restricting supplies in times of global hardship instead of coming to the rescue.” ’
“They are putting food security first and protecting their domestic markets from the shocks of inflation,” Begin said. ’
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