About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of the Middle East conflict on global energy and food supply chains, particularly focusing on fertilizer shortages and rising prices.
What’s happening in the Middle East can seem very far away — at least until you stop for gas. Prices at the pump have jumped since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the conflict, creating a gap in the energy supply chain that spans the world. It’s a reminder that war has profound effects on all those who are connected to it. And we are all connected to it, somehow. The longer the conflict in the Middle East continues the greater the likelihood that people around the globe will pay more for food. And those in the most vulnerable countries could face hunger. The Persian Gulf is a dominant source of the world’s fertilizers, especially those that deliver nitrogen to soils — a source of nourishment for crops that amount to half the world’s food. Fertilizer is produced in the region and shipped … everywhere. If the Strait of Hormuz remains strangled, prices for fertilizer will rise. And as a result, farmers may use less on their crops, if they can get any at all. The world will get less food, and it will cost more. We saw this happen at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, when the world received a lesson in the geography of agriculture. Both countries…
People in this episode
Host: Ken Scott Baron
Topics covered
- Middle East conflict
- energy supply chain
- fertilizer prices
- global food supply
- hunger
- agriculture
Keywords
- Middle East
- fertilizer
- food prices
- Strait of Hormuz
- energy supply
- hunger
- agriculture
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Middle East, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, West Africa, South Asia, Russia, Ukraine
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