Istanbul, August 26 (HNA) – As food prices have risen dramatically on international commodity markets, the US investment bank JP Morgan has issued a warning about a food crisis.
In the US markets, the price of rice – a food commodity traded on the futures market – has risen by 50.7 per cent since the start of the year (26 August), whilst US-grown wheat has risen by 41.4 per cent, soya bean oil by 37.4 per cent and maize by 19.8 per cent. On the London market, the price of wheat has risen by 27.2 per cent and the price of sugar by 20.9 per cent since the start of the year.
With agricultural commodity prices on the rise, warnings of a food crisis next year have been issued. A report by the US investment bank JP Morgan, dated 18 August and titled ‘Food Security is National Security: A Gathering Storm’, highlights that global food costs could rise by 5 per cent in the first half of 2027.
There are two main causes for the food shortage forecast by JP Morgan: a fertiliser shortage and a massive weather event…
According to JP Morgan, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz did not merely cause oil prices to rise. The closure of this waterway, through which approximately one-third of the world’s nitrogen fertiliser passes, created a supply shortage of fertiliser. This type of fertiliser is vital for approximately half of the world’s crops.
The report states that the nitrogen-based fertiliser shortage is a ticking time bomb; as it is required in the early stages of crop growth, the effects of the shortage could be felt even a year later.