The Iran war is now squeezing Myanmar’s farms. On top of the fuel crisis, fertiliser shortages and soaring prices threaten rice and food production. Myanmar depends on imports from China, the Middle East, and beyond, but with the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route, blocked by the conflict, shipments have dropped and prices have surged, distributors and farmers say.
A Yangon warehouse source, speaking anonymously, told Myanmar Now that fertiliser imports from Iran, the UAE, and other Persian Gulf producers have halted entirely.
“Ships can no longer depart. They can no longer sell to us. Without oil, it will be difficult for them to produce these fertilisers,” the source said. Shipping lines are completely unavailable, and deliveries now take 40 to 50 days to arrive, she said. Larger companies can still secure supplies if they pay a premium, but the logistics have grown far more complicated than before.
Middle Eastern fertiliser is cheaper and higher quality than China’s, she said. Existing stocks remain, but year-long supply is now in doubt as future imports grow uncertain.
Myanmar, which farms over 35 million acres each year, planned to import 1.6 million tons of urea and compound fertiliser in 2025-26, over a million tons had already arrived by February, per the junta’s Ministry of Co-operatives and Rural Development.
The multi-billion-dollar market serves a rural population almost entirely dependent on foreign supply: of five state fertiliser factories, only two are running, producing just 40,000 tons a year. In Letpadan Township, Bago Region, an anonymous rice mill owner told Myanmar Now that even now — with farmers only harvesting summer paddy and preparing land — prices are climbing as stocks thin.
He said that before the Iran war, a bag of popular Urea fertiliser cost only 90,000 kyat, but has now reached over 170,000, and a bag of compound fertiliser has risen from just over 100,000 kyat to over 200,000.
“When calculating the cost of cultivation per acre, fuel and fertiliser are the main factors,” he told Myanmar Now. “If these are expensive and hard to buy, it won’t be very easy for some farmers to cultivate 100 percent as they did before.”
Regime reference prices exist only on paper, he added. The Central Bank sells importers the foreign currency they need and sets domestic prices, but importers say they can’t get enough currency or licenses. April’s reference price in Yangon is 94,000 kyat per 50kg bag of urea — on the open market, it’s topping 150,000.
An anonymous farmer from Thanatpin Township, Bago Region, said most farmers are forced to buy at market rates, and fertiliser use could drop sharply this year as costs spiral.
“My thought is whether the fertiliser price will keep rising along with the fuel price when the usage time comes,” he said. “If we use less, the yield could be affected.”
A 40-year-old agricultural supply shop owner in Naypyitaw said that while major companies like Myanmar Awba and Wizaya, which import agricultural inputs, are distributing fertilisers and pesticides in the domestic market, most farmers have to prioritise using cheaper types of fertiliser.
“Because it’s expensive, they don’t use it (the expensive fertilizer); because they don’t use it, they don’t buy it,” he said. “Since farmers don’t know what the paddy price will be, they don’t dare to work with full momentum. Now, fertilizer prices are out of reach for farmers.”
“Since farmers are losing on their crops, they haven’t even been able to pay back the credit for last year’s summer paddy fertiliser. They can’t afford to pay.”
An April 18 statement from the UN World Food Programme warned the fuel and fertilizer spike has hit Myanmar at the worst possible moment: if fertilizer use drops 50% this paddy season, yields could fall 10 to 15%, driving rice prices higher and threatening food security.
“This crisis is not just affecting the agricultural sector but everyone,” the statement said. It was also stated that the impact could be felt more severely by low-income families, small-scale farmers, rural people, and those living in conflict zones.
“Agriculture is the lifeblood of Myanmar’s food system,” the statement said. “If farmers face hardships, the consequences will be felt nationwide.”
