New Delhi, May 10 -- The joint military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in late February triggered a shockwave far beyond the energy markets, severely disrupting global commodity markets, especially fertilizers. India depends on imports for 25% of its urea, 90% of its phosphate, and its entire supply of potash. To shield farmers from these volatile international costs, the Indian government maintains strict price controls on these essential agricultural inputs.

Also, natural gas, an input in urea, is primarily imported from the Gulf. For now, the government says fertilizer stocks are sufficient for the upcoming kharif agricultural season. And, at the time of writing this, markets are optimistic that the US and Iran will strike a dea...