Russia is benefiting from a sharp rise in fertiliser prices driven by the US-Israel war against Iran, as other major suppliers in the Middle East halt production and struggle to ship exports via the Strait of Hormuz.
The shift has put European supplies at risk, giving fresh impetus to Russia-friendly EU countries to argue that the bloc should ease restrictions on Russian fertiliser imposed in response to the war in Ukraine.
“Russia is one of the main beneficiaries [of the war] as a large commodities producer, but that’s how it is — that’s not just oil and gas, but fertiliser as well,” said Andrey Sizov, managing director of grain consultancy SovEcon. “As you go down the chain of agricultural products, the price of those is going up as well, and Russia has pretty large reserves.”