Albanese Secures Urea Supplies in Brunei

0:00It's April 15th, this is Sydney News today, your AI-powered local news. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Alvanez just wrapped up a key trip to Brunei to lock in more Urea fertilizer supplies as the Middle East War. Slams the brakes on our usual imports. We get over two-thirds of our nitrogen-based Urea from there, but with the straight-of-horn moves shut down, those shipments are drying up fast. Urea is the go-to for boosting yields on wheat, barley, and oats crops that keep our farms humming. Earlier this week, Alvanez met the sultan of Brunei and toured a processing plant, bashing out deals to swap our food and ag products for there. Steady Urea flow. Brunei already supplies about 11% of what we need, making it the closest, cheapest back-up in Southeast Asia when the Middle East option. Vanishes. Experts like ag analysts Andrew Whitelaw are sounding the alarm. Without Urea, grain yields could drop up to 40% with lower protein too. Farmers have no local stockpiles to fall back on,

1:02and costs have already doubled since the conflict kicked off. Aussie growers are tougher than most, but they're feeling the pinch alongside India and Vietnam chasing the same Asian supplies. Right now, just one boat from the Middle East is due this April, with the rest coming from Brunei and Indonesia. Governments are pumping $574 million into a massive domestic plant in the Pilbara, set to crank out $2.3 million tons a year by 2027. Building these ties with the Brunei and neighbors isn't just smart. It's essential to keep our energy and food secure through the chaos, ensuring those. Record harvest don't turn into shortfalls anytime soon.