Wall Street closes at a record for the first time since end of January
Investing.com -- Senator Josh Hawley on Thursday accused CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) and other fertilizer giants of price gouging, sending a detailed nine-question letter to the company’s CEO demanding answers after urea prices spiked 32% in just 12 days amid supply disruptions from the Iran conflict.
The Missouri Republican, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, highlighted that urea fertilizer prices surged from roughly $516 per metric ton to as high as $683 over a 12-day period, according to his letter to CF Industries CEO Christopher Bohn. One Missouri retailer reported urea up $140 per ton, NH3 up $100 per ton, and UAN up $100 per ton in a two-week period, according to AgWeb.
"Sure looks to me like the giant fertilizer companies are price gouging farmers," Hawley said Thursday on X. "Which drives farmers out of business and the price of food way up. Somebody needs to explain to them price gouging is illegal. So either stop or be investigated."
The accusations come as fertilizer stocks rally sharply despite the controversy. CF Industries shares jumped 13.21% to $136.00 on Thursday, while The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) gained 7.58% to $31.36 andNutrien Ltd (NYSE:NTR) rose 5.84% to $83.94.
Hawley’s letter arrives at a critical juncture for American agriculture. The price spike occurs during the spring planting season, when farmers typically apply about 50% of nitrogen to corn, 28% to cotton, and 42% to spring wheat, according to the American Farm Bureau. The North America fertilizer price index topped $810 per short ton as of March 9, above the $776.85 peak seen in August 2025, according to Farm Progress.
"American farmers cannot absorb another price shock," Hawley wrote to Bohn. "If your company is using this conflict as a pretext to raise prices beyond what market conditions justify, Congress will not ignore it."
While nearly 50% of global urea exports originate from countries west of the Strait of Hormuz and transit through the waterway, according to The Fertilizer Institute, Hawley argues the price increases far outpace actual supply disruptions affecting U.S. farmers. Wholesale urea prices jumped from a high-low spread of $460-480 per short ton the week of Feb. 27 to $520-620 the following week after the conflict began.
The timing is particularly sensitive as the Department of Justice is already investigating whether CF Industries, Nutrien, Mosaic, Koch Industries, and Yara International coordinated to raise prices, according to Farm Progress. The fertilizer industry is highly concentrated, with four firms controlling 75% of the nitrogen market and two firms controlling nearly 100% of U.S. potash supply.
USDA undersecretary Luke Lindberg warned in a Politico interview that "any company or any part of the fertilizer supply chain who tries to use this opportunity to price-gouge American farmers and ranchers will not be tolerated."
What to Watch
CF Industries faces a March 27 deadline to respond to Hawley’s detailed questions, including:
-
Specific price changes by date, product, geography, and percentage since Feb. 28
-
Cost increases justifying each price change, including feedstock and freight
-
Any communications with competitors regarding prices or market conditions since Feb. 28
-
Quarterly gross margins and operating margins for 2024, 2025, and year-to-date 2026
-
Internal pricing strategies or documents referencing competitor pricing or "price leadership"
The company must also preserve all documents and communications concerning fertilizer pricing from January 1, 2025, to present.
Forward Context
American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall is scheduled to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, March 16, providing farmers’ perspective on the fertilizer crisis. The ongoing DOJ antitrust investigation adds regulatory pressure as the spring planting season intensifies through May.
