World has 6 months to avert major food crisis, says UN as Hormuz struggle drags on

Key Points:

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that closing the Strait of Hormuz could cause a severe global food price crisis within six to 12 months unless governments take immediate action on fertilizer use, imports, financing, and crop choices.
• The FAO Food Price Index has risen for three consecutive months due to high energy costs and Middle East conflict-related disruptions, with poorer countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America most vulnerable due to their reliance on Middle Eastern nitrogen fertilizer.
• The crisis is expected to unfold in stages: energy shortages, fertilizer scarcity, seed shortages, reduced crop yields, rising commodity prices, and ultimately food inflation affecting consumers.
• The European Commission's recent fertilizer action plan focuses on long-term solutions like recycling manure, but avoids quicker measures such as suspending tariffs on Russian and Belarusian fertilizers or pausing the EU carbon border tax, which could immediately lower costs for farmers.
• The FAO urged governments to find alternative trade routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, avoid export restrictions, and protect humanitarian food supplies from trade disruptions.