ISTANBUL, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish agricultural experts are raising the alarm over a potential food crisis triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East, warning that disruptions in fertilizer supplies could ripple through global food systems.
Halim Orta, a professor at Tekirdag Namik Kemal University and a wheat farmer in Türkiye's Thrace region, said the situation has become especially fragile following a recent U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, which has intensified regional conflict.
"Agriculture depends on four main inputs: fuel, seeds, fertilizers, and labor," Orta told Xinhua on Monday. "Disruption to any of these would be severe -- not just for producer countries, but also for nations reliant on imported food."
According to Murat Kapikiran, head of the Istanbul Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, both Iran and Israel are key players in global fertilizer markets.
"Iran exports roughly 4.5 million tonnes of ammonia-based products annually, while Israel exports around 4.5 million tonnes of potash," he said.
Experts warn that the conflict threatens not only production capacity but also critical supply routes. The potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz or damage to key infrastructure could push the global food system from a crisis of affordability to one of availability.
"In that kind of scenario, I'm not even talking about price anymore. The real issue becomes: can you access the product at all?" Orta said.
Orta stressed that fertilizers -- particularly nitrogen-based ones -- are strategic goods. "In times of war, these inputs are like weapons. Even if you have the money, you might not be able to buy them. Their scarcity makes them powerfully strategic."
Türkiye, he noted, is particularly vulnerable. The country imports approximately 5 million tonnes of fertilizer annually, and the majority of these imports consist of nitrogenous, particularly urea-based, fertilizers.
Kapikiran noted that global fertilizer markets reacted almost immediately to the outbreak of hostilities.
"Just two or three days into the conflict, we saw discussions on looming shortages and sharp price increases. The impact quickly spread to international fertilizer trading exchanges."
In the latest developments, fertilizer producers in Egypt have halted operations due to disruptions in natural gas imports from Israel, while instability in Iran's energy sector, crucial for nitrogen-based fertilizer production, is already affecting output and farm operations, according to media reports.
"These developments are hitting both industrial and agricultural energy supplies hard," Kapikiran explained. "And that means significantly higher costs across the globe, lower production, and tighter supplies," he added. ■
