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BANGKOK: The impact of \u200cthe disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is already becoming visible in agricultural harvests, threatening to lower farm yields and \u200bpush up food prices, the head of a United Nations rural development agency said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pass-through from the initial locking down of the Strait of Hormuz … is now starting to be seen,\u201d International Fund for Agricultural Development President Alvaro Lario told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Hormuz-related disruptions to fertilizer shipments and higher fuel \u200cand transport \u200ccosts, compounded by El Ni\u00f1o \u200band disruptions \u200cto \u2060Black \u200bSea wheat \u2060supplies, are adding costs throughout the food supply chain, he said.<\/p>\n
Iran has sought to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, using the chokepoint to pressure Washington, which has been pressing its own naval blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
Existing fertilizer and fuel \u2060stocks initially cushioned the shock, but prolonged \u200cuncertainty has led to \u200cmore cautious planting and reduced fertilizer \u200buse, Lario said, adding \u200cthat higher fuel costs are also affecting mechanized harvesting.<\/p>\n
Agricultural commodity prices rose 13 percent in the third quarter, with further increases expected in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, he said.<\/p>\n
Countries reliant on imported fertilizer, fuel and food are particularly vulnerable, according to \u2060Lario, who \u2060highlighted Southeast Asia\u2019s fuel dependence as well as the Gulf region\u2019s reliance on food imports.<\/p>\n
A failure by the US and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme told Reuters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The ongoing uncertainty could push small farmers away \u200bfrom higher-value crops that \u200btake longer to generate income and toward crops providing faster cash flow, Lario said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n