Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. sought to ease concerns over a potential fertilizer shortage as escalating Middle East tensions threaten global trade routes, asserting that the Philippines maintains sufficient domestic stockpiles and alternative sources to mitigate price volatility.

Tiu Laurel and Senator Francis Pangilinan inspected the production facilities of Agri Specialists Inc. in Laguna. The visit highlighted a Department of Agriculture (DA) initiative to lower the sector’s reliance on petroleum-based inorganic fertilizers while pursuing long-term food security through bio-based alternatives.

Agri Specialists manufactures commercial volumes of biofertilizers developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños’ National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

According to company data, a single kilogram of this biofertilizer—priced at ₱750—can replace two 50-kilogram bags of urea. Currently, a bag of standard 14-14-14 fertilizer retails for approximately ₱2,500, making the alternative roughly one-sixth the cost of traditional chemical inputs on a per-unit-replaced basis.

The DA’s shift toward liquid fertilizers and soil ameliorants began prior to the Feb. 28 airstrikes by the US and Israel on Iran. That military action prompted Tehran to restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global shipments of urea, nitrogen, and phosphate.

While these geopolitical shifts sent crude oil prices higher, Tiu Laurel indicated that the Philippines’ direct exposure to Middle Eastern fertilizer exports is manageable.

Based on 2025 government data, about 20 percent of the country’s 713,000 metric tons of imported urea originated from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The majority of supply is sourced from regional partners including Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, China, and Vietnam. Furthermore, ammonium sulfate requirements are met entirely by imports from China and Japan, bypassing the volatile shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf.

“I reviewed all the figures on where our fertilizer comes from,” Tiu Laurel told reporters. “Supply is not the issue—it’s really the price.”

The DA chief noted that field trials demonstrate farmers can reduce urea application by 50 percent to 70 percent without sacrificing crop yields by integrating nanotechnology and bio-based solutions. However, the broader inflationary impact remains a concern.

Tiu Laurel estimated that rising logistics and fuel costs could drive up the retail price of various agricultural commodities by ₱2 to P₱5 per kilogram.

Senator Pangilinan warned that the energy crisis could undermine food security if the agriculture budget remains stagnant. He signaled that the Senate is prepared to review the 2026 national budget or pass a supplemental spending bill to address the rising costs of production and transport.

Rice prices, the most politically sensitive commodity in the Philippine consumer basket, remain under close watch as the government weighs the balance between farmgate costs and retail affordability.