BEIJING, March 12 (Reuters) - China's state-owned Sinofert on Thursday told customers not to speculate, hoard or drive up fertiliser prices during the spring planting season, the state-backed Securities Times reported.
The Iran war has shut down fertiliser plants in the region and disrupted key shipping routes, potentially tightening supplies to major importers just as farmers across the Northern Hemisphere prepare for spring planting.
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China's phosphate and compound fertiliser industry association has also repeatedly urged phosphoric ammonium producers and distributors to ensure adequate agricultural supply and keep prices stable.
China is largely self-sufficient in fertilisers and does not rely on Gulf imports, while maintaining large reserves, said Even Rogers Pay, a director at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China.
However, more than half of China's sulphur imports come from the Middle East.
China may tighten fertiliser export controls due to the conflict, two agricultural analysts have said, although such restrictions may not be formally announced and instead be communicated privately to major producers and customs authorities.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Ella Cao and Lewis JacksonEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
((Ella.Cao@thomsonreuters.com;))
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