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Extended closure of Strait of Hormuz threatens a global food crisis, warns UN body

13 April 2026 21:46 (UTC +04:00)

A global food crisis could develop if normal traffic doesn’t resume through the Strait of Hormuz soon, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today, APA reports citing CNN.

Substantial proportions of the world’s supply of products required for farming – including oil, natural gas, urea and fertilizers – are currently choked off from global markets as vessels cannot safely pass through the crucial waterway due to the war in the Middle East.

“It’s essential for the ceasefire to continue, and that vessels can start to move … to avoid the problem of food inflation,” said Maximo Torero, the FAO’s Chief Economist.

He warned the “clock is ticking” to avoid this situation ballooning into a global crisis which could rival that caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Everything is linked to the crop calendar,” he said. If farmers don’t have all the resources they need for planting, that could cause lower yields, meaning less food in the future, he warned. In addition, if countries start restricting energy or fertilizer exports that will add to the problem, he said.

Any squeeze on global food supply will have an outsized effect on lower-income and smaller countries, added David Laborde, director of the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division at the FAO.