Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

Asia’s next food crisis is under way. After the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed, sending shock waves across energy, fertiliser and food systems. Fuel, freight and fertiliser costs are rising sharply, amplified by skyrocketing insurance premiums – feeding directly into the price of every tonne of fertiliser that still reaches the market.The scale of disruption reflects the strait’s outsize role in global trade. It carries around one-third of globally traded fertiliser, one-quarter of seaborne oil and a major share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – the primary feedstock for nitrogen fertiliser production.Asia is heavily exposed. It normally takes 35 per cent of the Gulf’s urea exports, 53 per cent of its sulphur and 64 per cent of its ammonia, with import reliance ranging from 36 per cent of fertiliser in Sri Lanka to 53 per cent in Bangladesh. Equally alarming is Asia’s energy dependence. Last year, about 80 per cent of oil and oil products transiting the strait went to Asia, alongside almost 90 per cent of the LNG, accounting for over a quarter of Asia’s LNG imports.