UN: Parts of Asia and Africa May Face Food Security Crisis Unless Iran and the US Quickly Reach an Agreement on Transferring Chemical Fertilizer from the Strait of Hormuz

A senior UN official, referring to the UN support plan to facilitate the passage of chemical fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, warned that parts of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis if Iran and the United States do not quickly reach an agreement on transferring chemical fertilizer through the strait.

Ambassador Arjan: Referring to the UN support plan to facilitate the passage of chemical fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior UN official warned: If Iran and the United States of America do not quickly reach an agreement to transfer chemical fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz, parts of Asia and Africa may face a food security crisis.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, on Wednesday, referring to the approach of the planting season, considered the agreement of the two countries on this plan as "very vital" and said: "This proposal includes the creation of a center to coordinate with the presence of United Nations staff in Oman to facilitate the registration of vessels and the monitoring of their safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, because this waterway has traditionally passed a large part of the world's key fertilizer production inputs.

Moreira da Silva told Ambassador Arjan on the sidelines of the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand: If we miss the planting season, agricultural productivity will decrease drastically and its effect on prices will increase significantly.

Farmers follow strict crop calendars, and even minor delays in planting can have a dramatic impact on the final yield.

Passage of small shipments of fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz

Since the beginning of the conflicts between Iran, the US and Israel, the traffic of ships in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted, and for this reason, not only the transfer of fuel, but also some products related to crude oil, such as chemical fertilizers, have faced a serious challenge all over the world.

For example, these disruptions have affected the global supply of urea as the world's most consumed nitrogen fertilizer and sulfur exported by sea, which is one of the key inputs for fertilizer production. This is despite the fact that before the start of the conflicts, about a third of the world's urea shipments and nearly half of the sulfur shipped by sea passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Washington-based International Institute for Food Policy Research, although some ships have been able to pass through the strait amid the crisis, the share of fertilizer shipments has been very small.

In the same context, Moreira da Silva announced that the fertilizer transfer mechanism with the support of the United Nations, which was formulated in March, can be implemented within seven to 10 days if Iran and the United States agree.

According to this plan, UN observers will supervise the process of confirming the loading of cargoes along with local authorities in Persian Gulf ports. Also, ships will be tracked along the route, and additional inspections will be possible if countries express concern about a ship or its cargo.

This is while the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations did not explain why Iran and the United States have not yet reached an agreement. At the same time, he said that the daily passage of only five ships through the Strait of Hormuz can guarantee the continuation of the supply of fertilizer to countries in critical need.

On the other hand, in May, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that a shortage of fertilizers could limit food supplies from late 2026 to 2027, possibly severely affecting countries facing climate or other crises.

In South Asia, where most farmers depend on imported fertilizers, the sharp increase in costs and shortages of fertilizers are already causing serious problems for farmers. On Wednesday, farmers in Spain took to the streets to protest against the increase in production costs due to high oil and fertilizer prices.