The accelerating crisis is already undermining global food security, raising concerns for farmers, consumers and migrant workers worldwide.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FAO Chief Economist M\u00e1ximo Torero told journalists in New York that the situation has placed extraordinary pressure on agricultural production systems. \u201cTemporality matters a lot right now, and the clock is ticking very hard,\u201d he said, stressing that swift solutions were essential to avoid deeper global repercussions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Since the conflict erupted, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen by more than 90%. The strategic waterway normally carries 35% of global crude oil flows, around 20 million barrels a day, as well as 30% of the world\u2019s fertiliser shipments and one\u2011fifth of liquefied natural gas exports.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The disruption has created what Torero described as a \u201cdouble shock\u201d for farmers, with both fuel and fertiliser prices rising sharply. These two inputs are foundational for agricultural production and already account for significant costs in many regions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If the disruption ends soon, FAO estimates that markets could stabilise within approximately three months. But if it continues, the impact on farmers will intensify, affecting crop yields, planting decisions and input substitution in the next growing season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Torero warned that high oil prices, particularly above $100 a barrel, could trigger competition from the biofuel sector. While farmers might benefit from higher demand, consumers would face rising food prices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Countries currently harvesting key staples such as rice, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are among the most vulnerable. African states dependent on fertiliser imports are also at risk, while major global exporters such as Argentina, Brazil and the United States will feel the effects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the Gulf region itself, he noted that food prices are already \u201cskyrocketing\u201d in Iran, which still relies on imports for about 30% of its food supply. Large food\u2011importing nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates face mounting challenges, with vessels avoiding the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Millions of migrant workers in the Gulf also stand to lose income if economic activity slows, reducing remittances sent to families in South Asia and East Africa.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Torero called for immediate action to mitigate the crisis, including identifying alternative maritime routes and providing emergency balance\u2011of\u2011payments support to heavily import\u2011dependent countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the medium term, he stressed the need to diversify fertiliser supply chains, strengthen regional food reserves and avoid export restrictions. Long\u2011term resilience, he said, requires treating global food systems with the same strategic importance as energy and transport.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to invest accordingly to minimise these shocks,\u201d Torero concluded.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30099,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-30098","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The intensifying conflict in the Persian Gulf has triggered one of the most rapid and severe disruptions to global commodity flows in recent history, the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Thursday.\u00a0","published_date":"","news_description":"The intensifying conflict in the Persian Gulf has triggered one of the most rapid and severe disruptions to global commodity flows in recent history, the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Thursday.\u00a0","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30100,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30098\/revisions\/30100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=30098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}