A shortage of fertilizers threatens 30 million people with poverty and hunger following the war against Iran.
Al-Arabi Al-Jadid: The global fertilizer crisis worsens with the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a third of the world's fertilizer passed before the war. Shipping restrictions in the Strait, along with the US blockade of Iranian ports, have disrupted maritime transport and increased supply costs, raising concerns that fertilizer shortages will affect farmers' decisions in 2026 and 2027. "The prices of most types of fertilizer have increased by 30% since the shipment restrictions began," Jorge Moreira da Silva, coordinator of the UN team responsible for facilitating fertilizer shipments, told AFP on Saturday on the sidelines of the COP31 UN climate conference in Antalya. He called on the United States and Iran to allow fertilizer shipments to pass through immediately without waiting for a comprehensive agreement to end the war.