China has asked fertilizer producers to suspend urea exports after domestic prices jumped, a move that is likely to restrict supplies and boost costs for farmers and key buyers such as India.
 
Major Chinese fertilizer makers halted signing new export deals from early this month following a government mandate. The restriction only applies to urea so far, they said.
 
China is the world’s top producer and consumer of urea and any significant decline in exports threatens to tighten supplies and push up global prices. Among the biggest export markets for the nation’s crop nutrient are India, South Korea, Myanmar and Australia.