The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned of disruptions to navigation and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, coinciding with the repercussions of the El Nino climate phenomenon, clarifying that this could increase pressures on global agriculture and threaten food security in several regions of the world.
Maximo Torero, the organization's chief economist, told Novosti agency that the overlap of these factors could exacerbate existing risks, noting that any disruption in trade and energy supplies could directly reflect on the prices and availability of agricultural inputs.
He pointed out that rising energy and fertilizer prices, along with unfavorable weather conditions associated with El Nino, could limit agricultural production and reduce crop yields in affected areas, making it difficult for other producing countries to compensate for the shortage.
Torero added that disruptions in transport and trade chains could hinder the delivery of food supplies to needy markets at reasonable prices, thereby exacerbating pressures on global food security.
Torero emphasized the importance of monitoring developments in energy and fertilizer markets, trade movements, and shipping costs, alongside monitoring food inflation and climate changes, to assess their potential repercussions on global food supplies.
El Nino is one of the most prominent climate phenomena affecting agricultural production, as it causes droughts, floods, and climate disruptions that affect crops and food supply chains in many countries.
The Strait of Hormuz represents one of the most important sea passages in the world, through which a large percentage of oil and gas exports pass, making any disruptions in navigation or energy supplies a factor influencing fuel and fertilizer prices and global shipping costs, which are essential elements in the agricultural production process.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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