Hormuz Crisis Threatens Fertilizer and Food Markets

September 19, 2026 · AA Tarım & Ekonomi

The World Trade Organization warned of rising fertilizer and food prices, stating that tensions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz have caused the biggest disruption to global trade in 80 years.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued critical warnings about the risks facing the international trading system. Evaluating the geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala summarized the situation with the following words:

The Director-General stated that 72% of global trade operates within the WTO's rules-based system and emphasized that all 166 member countries are carrying serious concerns due to these disruptions.

Focusing on agricultural input costs and food supply security, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made the following assessment, pointing to increasing cost pressures:

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that international trade actors are turning to alternative supply routes in the face of disruptions, highlighting the additional burdens imposed by new routes. Evaluating the sector's resilience, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala described the logistics picture as follows:

Okonjo-Iweala stated that many countries are developing measures to protect their economies from these cost shocks.

According to WTO data, global merchandise trade, which grew by 4.6% last year, is expected to increase by 1.9% for the full year. Evaluating the 3.2% growth in the first quarter, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala touched upon trade in artificial intelligence products, saying:

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pointed out the need to modernize trade rules and expressed the call for reform with the following words:

According to data from the WTO World Trade Report, if multilateral cooperation is not renewed, there could be a loss of 10% in global growth by 2050.

Türkçe