Iran war jeopardises global food production, risking 10 billion meals a week
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Apr 30
Iran war jeopardises global food production, risking 10 billion meals a week
13 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Apr 30
Yara chief Svein Tore Holsether said blocked Strait of Hormuz shipping has already cut global nitrogen fertiliser output by up to 500,000 tonnes.
He warned fertiliser prices have jumped 80% since the US and Israel's war on Iran, with some crop yields potentially falling by as much as 50% in the first season.
Holsether said poorer countries would be hit hardest in any food bidding war, while the UK is unlikely to face shortages but could see food inflation reach 10% by year-end.
As fertilizer becomes a weapon of statecraft, which nations will win the new global war over food?
With the Gulf blocked, will new technology finally free farmers from the global fertilizer monopoly?