Global fertilizer prices resume climb as Italian exchanges lag the move

International quotations for the main nitrogen fertilizers have turned higher again on a monthly basis, and the pace of increase has picked up sharply in recent days as positions harden in the conflict between the United States and Iran, according to the Italian agricultural publication AgroNotizie. Italy's regulated commodity exchanges are reacting more cautiously: their quotations still carry part of the increases triggered by the outbreak of hostilities, but they are no longer tracking the international move. The snapshot was taken 208 days after the start of the conflict in the Persian Gulf.

Two different pictures on the Italian exchanges

Domestic wholesale prices diverged between the two exchanges surveyed. In Turin, with most quotations falling, granular urea lost 40 euros per tonne month on month and ammonium sulphate shed the same 40 euros, while ammonium nitrate added 10 euros. In Rome, granular urea held steady along with several other products, while granular potassium sulphate 50% K2O and diammonium phosphate 18/46% moved higher. All domestic prices are expressed in euros per tonne and represent wholesale transactions.

Turin: nitrogen retreats, phosphate jumps

At the Borsa Merci di Torino on 24 September 2026, on terms free at the dealer's warehouse including 50/25 kilogram plastic packaging and 30-day payment, ammonium nitrate 26% was quoted at 435-445 euros per tonne, unchanged from the 17 September session but 10 euros above the 27 August range of 425-435 euros. Measured against the 19 March range of 465-475 euros, the product is down 30 euros per tonne, or 6.38%.

Agricultural urea 46%, excluding the 2% ecotax, was fixed at 620-630 euros per tonne, stable on the previous session but 40 euros below the 660-670 euros reached on 27 August, a level that had itself followed a 30-euro rise from 6 August. Ammonium sulphate 21% was quoted at 400-405 euros per tonne, down 40 euros from the 440-445 euro range of 27 August, when it had gained 50 euros against early August; it now stands only 5 euros above its 19 March value. Calcium nitrate 16% was steady at 595-600 euros, 20 euros above the 19 March session, and granular calcium cyanamide 21% remained at 1,270-1,300 euros, a level unchanged at every session since 26 March.

Phosphates moved in the opposite direction. Triple superphosphate 46% rose to 725-735 euros per tonne, an increase of 80 euros on the 645-655 euros recorded on 27 August, while granular mineral superphosphate 21% P2O5 eased to 380-390 euros, 5 euros lower at the bottom of the range and only the second change since 26 March. Potash fertilizers, compound products and blends were stable.

Rome: quotations largely unchanged

At the Borsa Merci di Roma on 23 September 2026, under a full-truckload clause, granular urea 46% including the 2% food security contribution was quoted at 600-630 euros per tonne in big bags, unchanged from 16 September and from 26 August but 70 euros below the 24 June level. On 24 June the product had already fallen 130 euros at the bottom of the range and 125 euros at the top from the 800-825 euros of 20 May.

Crystalline ammonium sulphate 20.5% in 25 kilogram bags held at 360-385 euros per tonne, with its last price change dating back to 24 June. Compared with the 320-350 euros of 25 March, current quotations are 40 euros higher at the bottom and 35 euros higher at the top. Ammonium nitrate 26% in big bags was quoted at 420-450 euros per tonne, unchanged since 26 August, when it had lost 10 euros against the 430-460 euros held since 20 May.

The war premium measured against February

The reference points for the conflict remain the last pre-war sessions. Turin agricultural urea 46% was quoted at 580-590 euros per tonne on 26 February 2026, two days before the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran; the cumulative increase since then is 40 euros per tonne, or 6.84%. In Rome, granular urea 46% stood at 525-540 euros on 25 February 2026, three days before the start of hostilities, leaving a gain of 75 euros at the bottom of the range and 90 euros at the top, equal to 15.49%. On 24 June the same comparison showed 28.63%, meaning the premium built up by the war has narrowed by roughly half even as international quotations turn higher again.