A severe global situation is emerging—as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed due to the Iran-Israel and U.S. conflict, the global supply of chemical fertilizers is being critically disrupted, with international shipments nearly halted since the war began; military and economic analysts warn that this could trigger a sharp shortage and soaring prices of fertilizers worldwide, potentially reducing global crop production by up to 30 percent, which would quickly impact agricultural commodity prices, according to the chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Máximo Torero, who stated in an interview that the situation is becoming increasingly complex as the fertilizer crisis is directly interfering with critical planting seasons across multiple countries, with several Asian nations already missing optimal sowing windows due to shortages, preventing timely agricultural action; he further noted that major food-exporting countries like the United States and Brazil may alter their farming strategies by shifting from crops like wheat and corn to soybeans, which naturally help retain nitrogen in the soil, while rising crude oil prices could also push farmers to divert crops from food production toward biofuel generation; Torero warned that global prices of wheat and soybeans have already started increasing, with the trend expected to intensify in the latter half of the year and potentially lead to a significant spike in agricultural prices next year, and combined with rising energy costs, this could drive global food inflation to dangerous levels, with the risk of a worsening food crisis growing more severe the longer the situation remains unresolved, source: Al Jazeera.
Fears of a global food crisis
