UN agency warns Hormuz shipping disruption starting to hit harvests

Disruption to fuel and fertiliser shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is beginning to impact agricultural harvests, the head of ‌a United Nations rural development agency warned on Thursday. “The pass-through from the initial locking down of the Strait of Hormuz … is now starting to be seen,” International Fund for Agricultural Development President Alvaro Lario told Reuters. Hormuz-related disruptions to fertiliser shipments and higher fuel and transport costs, compounded by ⁠El Nino and disruptions to Black Sea wheat supplies, threaten to lower farm yields and push up prices throughout the food supply chain, he said. Lario added that existing fertiliser and fuel stocks initially cushioned the shock, but prolonged uncertainty has led to more cautious planting and reduced fertiliser use.