The urea price per ton has done something few commodities manage in a single year: it roughly doubled, then gave almost all of it back. Buyers who missed either move are now asking which number to trust.
Last updated: September 2026. Kuwait and Adnoc typically post fresh official selling prices in the first week of the month \u2014 this page is refreshed each time they do.
How the price actually moved
Granular urea traded in a comfortable $350 to $450 per tonne range in January. Then the Strait of Hormuz crisis broke that range entirely.
By late March, urea had broken above $700 per tonne. It kept climbing through April, touching $850 to $890 at the peak of the panic \u2014 a level not seen since 2022. Roughly 40% of global seaborne urea trade moves through or near the Gulf, so a shipping disruption there hit supply directly rather than through some indirect channel.
Then, in June, the correction arrived just as sharply as the spike had. China reopened its export quota window, releasing several million tonnes back into a market that had been starved of them. India’s NFL tender cleared near $445 per tonne that same month \u2014 roughly half the April peak.
By August, assessments had urea trading in the $300 to $400 per tonne range \u2014 at or below where the market sat before the crisis ever began. In other words, the market did not just normalise. It overshot.
Why the low price may not last
China’s export quota is a policy decision, not a structural change in global nitrogen capacity. It has opened and closed before, and nothing about global production capacity changed between April and June \u2014 only Beijing’s willingness to let supply leave the country.
Consequently, a buyer treating $300 to $400 as a permanent floor is pricing a policy choice as though it were a fact about the world. If China tightens the window again \u2014 which it has done roughly annually in recent years \u2014 the correction reverses quickly, because the underlying supply picture has not actually eased.
Meanwhile, the Hormuz disruption that started this has not fully unwound. Freight and insurance premiums on Gulf-adjacent routes remain elevated, even though the acute panic has passed.
What to specify in a contract
- Grade \u2014 granular or prilled, agricultural or automotive (see our prilled vs granular comparison)
- Nitrogen content \u2014 minimum 46%
- Biuret \u2014 maximum 1.0%
- Moisture \u2014 maximum 0.5%
- Independent pre-shipment inspection, named as a required document under the letter of credit
A specification that lives only in an email has no standing with your bank. If it is not written into the credit, it is not enforceable. Our GCC urea sourcing guide covers the full document chain.
Sourcing urea with Ruwad Al Tasaheel
- Granular and prilled urea, agricultural grade, minimum 46% nitrogen
- Gulf and non-Gulf origins
- Independent pre-shipment inspection on every cargo
- Confirmed irrevocable letter of credit terms only
- No upfront costs to buyers at any stage
Send your grade, volume and destination port. We respond within 24 hours. Contact our team or email sales@ruwadaltasaheel.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current urea price per ton?
As of the most recent assessments, granular urea is trading in the $300 to $400 per tonne range FOB Middle East \u2014 well below the crisis peak of $850 to $890 reached in April 2026.
Why did urea prices fall so fast after April?
China reopened its export quota window in June, releasing several million tonnes of supply that had been held back. That single policy change, not a change in demand, drove the correction.
Will urea prices rise again?
That depends largely on whether China’s export window stays open. It has closed before, and the underlying Hormuz-related supply disruption has not fully resolved, so a reversal is plausible rather than assured.