



Europe must rationalize its gas import policy rightaway if the world is to prevent a food crisis
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted not just oil and gas supplies, but caused a global fertilizer shock as well. Of the world’s traded fertilizers, more than 40% of urea and 20-30% of potassic and phosphatic fertilizers—as well as 45% of the sulphur that goes into fertilizer manufacture—are shipped from Gulf countries via that vital waterway.The blocked region also accounted for a fifth of all traded liquefied natural gas (LNG), some of which was feedstock for urea, before traffic through the strait came to halt. A shortage of all these products threatens food production and signals higher food prices globally, with hunger a distinct likelihood in countries that rely on imports for nutrition.
Since energy and food are essentials, supply shocks in these two categories tend to have a ripple effect that leads to elevated inflation. That, in turn, would induce monetary policy responses that could dampen investment, economic growth and incomes, thus tilting many parts of the world towards misery on more than one front. Gulf fertilizer exports are not easy to substitute.
But it would help if the world does whatever is possible to boost the availability of natural gas for the production of urea, its most widely used fertilizer. This can be done if Europe takes action. The impact of the US-Israel war against Iran on oil and gas prices has differed.
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