Crop prices fall as Hormuz reopening cuts fertilizer costs

Grain futures slumped in Chicago as the Iran deal prospect sent fertilizer prices tumbling, with urea in New Orleans dropping 18 percent to $640 per ton from $780 earlier this week. The Strait of Hormuz handles one-third of world crop nutrient supplies, so its closure had embedded war risk premiums into agricultural costs and food inflation expectations. July soybeans fell 2 cents to $11.61 while corn dropped to $4.55, as Bloomberg Green Markets tracked the fertilizer price collapse. But North Dakota State economists warn fertilizer prices will remain significantly above pre-war levels this fall, with little prospect of returning to 2023 levels before 2028 even under quick reopening scenarios.