Blockade in the Strait of Hormuz can trigger food inflation Bloqueio no Estreito de Hormuz pode disparar inflação dos alimentos Blockade in the Strait of Hormuz can trigger food inflation.

Ships carrying agricultural inputs will have to start crossing the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible to avoid the risk of a surge in global food price inflation later this year, which could trigger a series of effects similar to those of the covid-19 pandemic crisis. The warning came from representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). “Time is running out, and crop calendars place poorer countries at greater risk of shortages and high costs of fertilizers and energy inputs,” said Maximo Torero, chief economist at the FAO, in a podcast produced by the organization. “The last thing we want is lower agricultural productivity and higher commodity and food inflation prices next year,” Torero added, noting that the continued blockade of the strait would force countries to implement policies to reduce domestic food prices. This would entail raising interest rates and, consequently, potentially slower economic growth worldwide. The latest FAO Food ...