Fertilizer disruptions raise food security risk
The ongoing conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz region is disrupting energy and fertilizer flows, with measurable impacts on costs and growing risks for food systems, trade and vulnerable economies.
- By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie
The ongoing conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz region is disrupting energy and fertilizer flows, with measurable impacts on costs and growing risks for food systems, trade and vulnerable economies. The disruption is linking energy markets to food systems, with growing implications for trade and development as shipping through Hormuz has collapsed, with transits down by over 95 per cent, disrupting energy and fertilizer flows
A report by UN trade & Development (UNCTA), stated that while the overall global economic impacts will depend on the duration and scale of the disruption, the situation highlights the importance of continued monitoring, particularly implications for vulnerable economies.
The report said the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz underscores the vulnerability of critical maritime chokepoints to geopolitical tensions and their potential to transmit shocks across supply chains and commodity markets.
Furthermore, it maintained that Energy prices have surged, with oil and gas rising sharply across regions which region is central to global fertilizer supply, both as a producer and a key trade route. It lamented that rising energy, fertilizer and transport costs are increasing risks to food production, supply and prices.
The UNCTA report stated that the escalation of the conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz region, including Iran and the Gulf States, is increasingly reflected in fertilizer markets, linking disruptions in energy and shipping to agricultural markets, future food supply and trade.
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On its recommendation it stressed that reducing risks to global trade and development, including environmental risks, requires de-escalation and safeguarding maritime transport, ports and seafarers, and other civilian infrastructure, while maintaining secure trade corridors in line with international law and freedom of navigation
Economic impacts, both globally and for the region, will depend on the duration, intensity and geographic scope of the tensions it added.
It explained that continued monitoring is essential to assess evolving risks and their potential impacts.
On socio-economic implications for developing economies, it observed that many developing countries already face high debt service burdens, limited fiscal space and constrained access to finance.
‘In this context, rising energy, transport and food costs could strain public finances and increase pressure on household budgets, potentially heightening economic and social pressures and complicating progress toward sustainable development, particularly in economies heavily dependent on imported energy, fertilizers and staple foods.
