Fertiliser Crisis Looms, UN: 45 Million People Could Face Hunger!

The United Nations (UN) has warned that tens of millions of people are at risk of hunger. This comes amid disruptions to global fertiliser distribution in the Strait of Hormuz. As is known, these disruptions have been triggered by the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel, placing that strategic trade route under pressure for the past several months. Yet, around a third of the world’s fertiliser distribution typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz. The head of the UN task force for handling the global fertiliser crisis, Jorge Moreira da Silva, said the world is now racing against time to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis. “We only have a few weeks left to prevent what could become a major humanitarian crisis,” Moreira da Silva said, as quoted from Channel News Asia on Tuesday, 12 May 2026. “We could witness a crisis that will force an additional 45 million people into hunger and extreme starvation,” he stated. According to him, the disruption to fertiliser distribution has also stalled supplies of essential raw materials such as ammonia, sulphur, and urea. This situation is considered highly dangerous because many countries are entering the planting season. The UN formed a special task force in March to seek solutions so that fertiliser shipments and their raw materials can still cross the Strait of Hormuz. Moreira da Silva said his side has met with more than 100 countries to garner international support. However, the United States, Iran, and several Gulf countries, which are major fertiliser producers, are said not to have fully supported the mechanism. He stressed that the planting season cannot wait too long. “The problem is, the planting season cannot wait,” he said. The UN assesses that countries in Africa and Asia are the regions most vulnerable to the impact if fertiliser distribution does not recover soon. Although global food prices have not yet surged sharply, Moreira da Silva noted that fertiliser costs have already seen a significant increase. “There has been a massive rise in fertiliser costs,” he said. According to him, rising fertiliser prices could reduce agricultural productivity and trigger a spike in global food prices in the coming months. He stated that the crisis could actually be contained if there is a political agreement from all involved parties. According to him, the distribution of around five fertiliser ships per day would be sufficient to help prevent a global food crisis.