With Halt of Hormuz Fertilizer Plan, UN Official Warns of Looming Food Crisis

Without a quick deal to transport fertilizer through this strait, agricultural productivity will decline significantly.

A senior UN official has warned that parts of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis unless Iran and the United States quickly agree on a UN-backed plan to transport fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz.

UN Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva said on Wednesday that it was "absolutely vital" that the two countries agree to the proposal within weeks as the planting season approaches. It is calling for a coordination center with UN staff in Oman to help register ships and monitor their safe passage through the waterway, through which a large portion of the world's fertilizer inputs traditionally flow.

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Farmers enforce strict crop calendars, and even minor delays can drastically affect yields.

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, so that Iran targets ships in this strait and the US and Iran are exchanging fire in and around the waterway.

The disruption has hit global supplies of urea, the world's most widely used nitrogen fertilizer, as well as marine sulfur, a key input. Before the war, about a third of the world's urea shipments and about half of marine sulfur passed through this strait.

Although some ships have been, according to the Washington-based Institute for International Food Policy Research, fertilizer products that have been able to pass through amid the crisis make up a "very small" share of the cargo being moved.

Moreira da Silva said the UN-backed fertilizer mechanism, which was prepared in March, could be activated within 7 to 10 days if Iran and the United States agree.

Under the plan, UN observers will work alongside local authorities at Persian Gulf ports to monitor cargo loading. Ships are tracked in transit and if countries have concerns about a ship or its cargo, additional inspections can be carried out, Moreira da Silva said. He did not say why America and Iran have not yet reached an agreement.

He added: Passing only 5 ships a day through the Strait of Hormuz can continue to provide fertilizer resources to countries in need.

Moreira da Silva said the UN mechanism could work alongside negotiations for a "comprehensive agreement" to restore freedom of navigation in the strait.

Iran and the US have exchanged proposals through intermediaries since a temporary ceasefire collapsed in June. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have been stopped due to Tehran's conditions and Washington's insistence on dealing with Iran's nuclear program from the very beginning.

"What we're saying to them is, while you continue your discussions for a comprehensive agreement, let us work, let us do our work," Moreira da Silva said.

His plea comes amid growing concern that fertilizer shortages could hit global food supplies.

In May, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization warned that fertilizer shortages could cut food supplies from late 2026 to 2027, likely hitting countries facing climate or other crises even harder.

In South Asia, where most rely on imported fertilizers, farmers are already struggling due to rising costs and fertilizer shortages. On Wednesday, Spanish farmers took to the streets to protest rising production costs amid high oil and fertilizer prices.