Yes, the downstream effects of the helium shortage are going to be extremely painful. Chip production, MRI machines, welding, many scientific uses. (We can't forget the previous era of US insanity in dumping the helium reserve under the 'party balloon gas' anti-science/anti-facts 1990s Congress.[1])

The world still produces enough fertiliser, but prices will rise significantly. The biggest producers (China, India, USA) also consume most of their supply, and China and India get their methane from elsewhere or from coal. Russia is a leading exporter, so they could easily tighten the screws now, leading to further economic shocks. Big importers will feel a crunch [2] and this will leader to significant crop price increases.[3]

[1] https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/02/21/federal-governm...

[2] https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/ALL/yea...

[3] https://farmonaut.com/mining/largest-urea-producers-2026-glo...

Significant crop price increases, which tends to be bad news for anyone who eats food.