Southeast Asia faces ‘sleeper’ food crisis from Hormuz fertiliser bottleneck
The Middle East shipping gridlock risks a regional hunger crisis unless Asean resists export controls and pushes a US-Iran deal, experts say
He noted that the UN was able to carve out the Black Sea Grain Initiative during the Russia-Ukraine war by getting both sides to sign off on an agreement that allowed for the safe export of grain from certain ports, alleviating a global food emergency.
Under a UN-led task force on Hormuz, the ICC is involved in trying to implement a similar initiative through the troubled strait. However, the United States and Iran have yet to sign off on the plan.
“The context of Hormuz is different, but the actual elements of it are similar, in that you’ve got a trade route which has been effectively frozen, militarised,” Denton told This Week in Asia.
