Not only oil, a third of the world's fertiliser passes through Hormuz: the impact on EU and Italian agriculture

When an international crisis strikes, an export-oriented country like Italy worries first and foremost about possible difficulties in accessing markets for its goods. But, in reality, many problems can also arise on the import front, for products on which Italia is totally dependent and whose supplies risk being interrupted, leading to further negative cascading effects.

This applies first and foremost to energy products, oil and gas which, from the Persian Gulf countries, are exported all over the world, but also to other product categories that are perhaps less well known to the general public but nevertheless decisive for another slice of the world economy.

Among European and Italian farmers, for example, there is great apprehension about the future availability of fertilisers, a technical means that is essential to ensure agricultural productivity and, therefore, the food sovereignty of countries.

At least one third of the world's traded fertiliser passes through the Strait of Hormuz. And the blockage of the ships' passage is aggravating a situation, on the fertiliser availability front, that was already strained.

In fact, if one third of the technical means for agriculture arrive from the Persian Gulf, another significant slice comes from another risk area. Important fertiliser producers are in fact also Russia and Belarus, and thirdly also Ukraine. Therefore, a slice of world production, even before the outbreak of tensions in the Middle East, was either put at risk by the Russian-Ukrainian war or was subject to sanctions, and therefore products from that area, even if they manage to reach the European markets, arrive there with prices burdened by tariffs.