From Hormuz to Asia’s Cradles – Tom McDermott

The world’s primary monitors of food security are now on “red alert.” Within the last 48 hours, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have labeled the conflict a “crisis multiplier.”

The FAO warns that the loss of urea and ammonia shipments from the Gulf is a direct threat to future yields, while the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) projects that if this blockade continues through the second quarter, an additional 45 million people will be pushed into acute hunger. In its April 2026 World Economic Outlook, the IMF echoed this, calling the conflict a “significant counterforce” to global stability and urging emergency fiscal support to protect the most vulnerable.

Fertilizer is made from hydrocarbons – oil. Without fertilizer we don’t get the crop yields we’ve counted on to feed the number of people living in non-rural areas.

Prices and shortages are set to rise everywhere.

Do read the whole article linked above.