# The Middle East conflict demonstrates the fragility of global food supply | World Economic Forum

> A Middle East conflict has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries much of the world's urea supply. Urea prices arriving in New Orleans reportedly jumped 17% soon after the war began, and India and Australia rely heavily on regional suppliers.

- Date: 2026-03-01 · published 2026-03-01T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region Middle East · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/10398-the-middle-east-conflict-demonstrates-the-fragility-of-global-food-supply-world
- Commodities: [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

Disrupted urea exports from the Gulf tighten global nitrogen fertilizer supply, raising input costs for farmers and pushing up feed grain production costs over the coming seasons.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bullish ▲
- CORN: bullish ▲
- UREA: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UREA | 2026-03-10 | [Middle East conflict strains fertilizer supply chains \| World Fertilizer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20099-middle-east-conflict-strains-fertilizer-supply-chains-world-fertilizer.md) | +2.8% | +21.1% |
| UREA | 2024-10-07 | [Middle Eastern Conflict Jeopardises Global Urea Supply \| CZ app](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28190-middle-eastern-conflict-jeopardises-global-urea-supply-cz-app.md) | -0.1% | -4.4% |
| UREA | 2023-03-01 | [War-induced fertilizer crunch threatens global food security \| World Economic Forum](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36787-war-induced-fertilizer-crunch-threatens-global-food-security-world-economic.md) | -3.9% | -2.6% |
| UREA | 2025-07-01 | [Global urea prices rise with Middle East conflict \| News \| farmtalknews.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24079-global-urea-prices-rise-with-middle-east-conflict-news-farmtalknews-com.md) | +10.7% | +11.9% |
| UREA | 2026-03-02 | [Urea derivatives surge on Middle East conflict \| Latest Market News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4428-urea-derivatives-surge-on-middle-east-conflict-latest-market-news.md) | +25.5% | +36.4% |
| CORN | 2026-03-10 | [Middle East conflict strains fertilizer supply chains \| World Fertilizer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20099-middle-east-conflict-strains-fertilizer-supply-chains-world-fertilizer.md) | +3.2% | +2.8% |
| CORN | 2026-03-02 | [Urea derivatives surge on Middle East conflict \| Latest Market News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4428-urea-derivatives-surge-on-middle-east-conflict-latest-market-news.md) | +2.0% | +5.1% |
| CORN | 2026-03-02 | [Middle East Conflict: Tension Injects Risk Premium into Global Grain Markets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16875-middle-east-conflict-tension-injects-risk-premium-into-global-grain-markets.md) | +2.0% | +5.1% |

## Sources

- weforum.org: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/03/fertilizer-urea-middle-east-war-food-security/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.