UN Warns of Food Crisis Risk Over Fertilizer Blockage in Strait of Hormuz
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
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The United Nations warned that the lack of an agreement between the United States and Iran to unblock the transport of fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a food security crisis in regions of Asia and Africa. The warning was issued by Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General, who stressed the risk of missing the planting season and of food prices soaring.
According to the official, the UN set up a working group in March to facilitate the passage of fertilizers through the strait, but the mechanism has not yet been activated. Moreira da Silva stated that, if Washington and Tehran reach an understanding, the scheme could be up and running between seven and ten days after the agreement is formalized, and he stressed that it is crucial to close it in the coming weeks in order not to miss the planting window.
The official said the proposed operation would use a coordination center in Oman to register vessels and organize safe passage, with UN monitors working alongside local authorities at Gulf ports to verify cargo. He indicated that the transit of just five vessels per day through Hormuz could be enough to sustain fertilizer supplies to the countries most in need.
Background to the conflict
Iran tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz following the US and Israeli attacks of February 28, using the passage as a pressure tool in response to the naval blockade Washington maintains on Iranian ports. Before the conflict, close to a third of the world's seaborne urea trade and nearly half of all sulfur shipped by sea passed through this route, which is also a key corridor for global oil supply. The International Food Policy Research Institute noted that fertilizer shipments from the Gulf had remained virtually halted more than six months after the conflict began.
Impact on prices and other corridors
The International Chamber of Commerce estimated that, should the disruption in Hormuz continue, commodity prices could rise by as much as 81% for grains, 66% for oilseeds, and 30% for animal-origin products. Days later, the same organization noted that fertilizer flows through the strait had already fallen by around 30%, and that this reduction could lead to food price increases of up to 80% in some markets, prompting its Secretary General, John W.H. Denton, to propose that allowing the passage of between three and five fertilizer vessels per day would help avert a deeper crisis. According to UNCTAD, close to a third of global seaborne fertilizer trade, some 16 million tonnes, passes through Hormuz, and the organization had also warned that navigational difficulties in the area had driven up tanker freight rates, insurance premiums, and bunker fuel costs.
Moreira da Silva also warned that the Hormuz crisis compounds other flashpoints affecting global food security, such as attacks on vessels in the Black Sea and the offensive by Iran-backed Houthi militants along the Red Sea route. Along the same lines, the International Chamber of Commerce pointed to additional risks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and in Ukrainian agricultural exports affected by attacks in the Black Sea, in a context in which some companies have already begun seeking alternative sources of energy and fertilizers.
