Júlia Rabelo Santos

Vessels laden with fertiliser product in the Mideast Gulf remain hesitant to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with the last vessel to exit the Gulf occurring on 22 March. As a result, the number of laden vessels has risen to highs not seen for at least the past seven years. As the supply of fertiliser on the global market tightens, this has resulted in price rationing. Some US corn growers are expected to reduce their fertiliser application, though this may come at the expense of yield potential.

The US-Israel-Iran conflict delivered a severe shock to the global fertiliser market. Port suspensions, production halts, and a fleet of laden vessels with cargoes from across the Middle East Gulf unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz. We observe 23 vessels loading or laden with fertilisers in the Middle East Gulf. This is minus a single vessel (Ksl Hengyang) that transited the Strait of Hormuz on 7 March. No other vessel laden with fertiliser has departed the region since.

Table 1 describes the characteristics related to the components of MS and the studied indicators, according to the presence or absence of MS, based on the NCEP and IDF criteria. According to the NCEP criteria, 45.7% of individuals with MS have a greater mean age (44.3 ± 9.8 years; p < 0.001). Additionally, participants with MS had a greater WC (102.3 ± 11.5 cm vs. 86.5 ± 11.3 cm; p < 0.001), lower HDL-c levels (45.3 ± 12.0 mg/dL vs.