The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Wednesday that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a major global crisis in the coming months due to rising food prices. This was reported by the AFP agency, writes TASR.
- The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could cause a serious global food crisis.
- The US and Israel attacked Iran, which subsequently blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
- Before the war, a fifth of oil and a third of artificial fertilizers flowed there.
- FAO calls for redirecting traffic through alternative routes and not restricting exports.
- The expected systemic shock may result in a global crisis within a year.
A fifth of the world’s oil supplies and significant amounts of other commodities passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. In response, Tehran effectively blocked the strategic waterway for tankers and cargo shipping.
Before the war, a third of the supply of artificial fertilizers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and representatives of the receiving countries warned that farmers may face shortages during the summer growing season.
FAO has called for greater attention to alternative land and sea routes, for example through the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea. She also appealed to countries not to limit the export of energy raw materials and fertilizers and to free food aid from trade restrictions.
The Rome-based organization stressed in a statement that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “is not a temporary disruption to shipping” but “the beginning of a systemic shock in agri-food”. According to the FAO, a full-scale global crisis could occur in six to 12 months. “The shock manifests gradually: energy, fertilizers, seeds, lower yields, rising commodity prices, then food price inflation,” FAO added that its global food price index has risen for three consecutive months since the start of the conflict.
