Africa food security under threat due to Iran war, trade officials warn

Doha, Qatar – African countries are feeling the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with rising fuel and fertiliser prices threatening to drive up food costs, according to trade ministers from the region and the United Nations’ top trade official.The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States and Israel’s war on Iran needs to be resolved “sooner rather than later”, Luz Maria de la Mora, director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told Al Jazeera at the World Investment Forum on Monday. She warned that soaring fertiliser prices could affect harvests next year.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Qatar official calls for peace and security to boost trade, investmentlist 2 of 4Inside the worst month for ships in the Strait of HormuzExternal LinkThis article will be opened in a new browser windowlist 3 of 4Iran says Mecca pact states agree to boost cooperationlist 4 of 4Has Pakistan reopened its border with Iran for trade?end of list“Prices of fertilisers have risen dramatically … so many countries have decided to reduce the use of fertilisers, which will have an effect next y...