Australia secures 90,000 tonnes of urea under new government strategic reserve scheme

Australia’s federal government has secured 90,000 tonnes of urea across three separate cargoes under an emergency underwriting scheme designed to support fertilizer imports amid historically tight domestic and global supply.

The announcement, made on May 13 by Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Julie Collins, confirms the government is working with fertilizer distributors Incitec Pivot and CSBP to bring the shipments to market through Export Finance Australia (EFA) — a government-backed financing agency being deployed to underwrite the supply risk. The timeline for delivery of the three cargoes was not disclosed.

The scheme is separate from and additional to a previously announced deal by Incitec Pivot to import 250,000 tonnes of urea from Indonesia’s Pupuk Indonesia under a bilateral arrangement.

Domestic urea prices in Australia have surged to approximately A$1,430–1,440 per tonne at Geelong — roughly 72% above pre-conflict levels — as the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global fertilizer trade routes. Australia imports a large share of its urea from the Middle East and has few domestic sources of supply.

The supply squeeze has also affected import volumes: Australian urea imports fell approximately 20% year-on-year in the January–April 2026 period, leaving some growers struggling to secure stocks for the upcoming planting season.

The use of EFA’s strategic reserve underwriting powers marks one of the Australian government’s most direct interventions in the fertilizer market in recent memory. The scheme effectively has the federal government standing behind the import transaction to encourage commercial participation that might otherwise be blocked by the elevated price and logistics risk of sourcing from alternative suppliers.

Australia depends on imports for the vast majority of its urea and nitrogen fertilizer needs. With domestic grain production cycles approaching and planting windows narrowing, the pressure to restock inventories before the season is intensifying. The reserve scheme underscores the growing pressure on fertilizer-importing nations to take active measures as the Hormuz disruption extends into its third month with no ceasefire in sight.

Source: World Fertilizer