India received offers for phosphate fertilizer at more than $900 a ton in a tender on Thursday, a fresh sign of how the war in the Middle East is boosting costs for major importers.
Prices in the tender, which was organized by Indian Potash Ltd., ranged from $930 to $1,100 a ton, according to traders familiar with the matter. Some 18 companies participated, offering a total of about 2.3 million tons — almost double the volume sought, said the people, who were not authorized to speak to the media.
While the Middle East is a smaller player in phosphate fertilizer compared to the nitrogen variety, almost half of the world’s supply of sulfur — which is turned into the acid needed to process it — comes from countries in the region vulnerable to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior official at Indian Potash wasn’t immediately available for comment.
A gauge of sulfur prices is currently at the highest since at least 2013, Green Markets data show. Phosphate supplies into India, including freight costs, have climbed more than 30 per cent since the start of the Iran war, according to price assessment data from Argus Media Group.
“Because India subsidizes phosphate, the nutrient is still affordable to Indian farmers but can the Indian government afford these prices?,” said Alexis Maxwell, a senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. The government has absorbed the higher subsidy costs in the past and that indicates they may do so again this year, she said.
If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed in May, that would affect buyers in July and August, Maxwell said, adding that India imports the majority of its DAP in the second half of the year.
India also procured 2.5 million tons of urea in a recent tender, paying nearly double pre-war levels. The purchases are coming at a crucial period ahead of sowing for monsoon crops such as rice, corn and soybeans.
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Published on May 8, 2026