{"id":11593,"date":"2026-10-26T22:26:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T22:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11593"},"modified":"2026-10-26T22:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T22:26:16","slug":"africa-food-security-under-threat-due-to-iran-war-trade-officials-warn-us-israel-war-on-iran-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11593","title":{"rendered":"Africa food security under threat due to Iran war, trade officials warn | US-Israel war on Iran News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Doha, Qatar \u2013<\/strong> African countries are feeling the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with rising fuel and fertiliser prices threatening to drive up food costs, according to trade ministers from the region and the United Nations\u2019 top trade official.<\/p>\n

The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States and Israel\u2019s war on Iran needs to be resolved \u201csooner rather than later\u201d, Luz Maria de la Mora, director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told Al Jazeera at the World Investment Forum<\/a> on Monday. She warned that soaring fertiliser prices could affect harvests next year.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

\u201cPrices of fertilisers have risen dramatically \u2026 so many countries have decided to reduce the use of fertilisers, which will have an effect next year in terms of crops,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may have an effect on availability of food and prices of food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Luz
Luz Maria de la Mora, director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UN Trade and Development [Urooba Jamal\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> has highlighted the world\u2019s heavy reliance on the strategic waterway<\/a>, through which one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade previously passed.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, Doha hosted UNCTAD\u2019s World Investment Forum on October 25 and 26, bringing together heads of state, policymakers, CEOs and investors to discuss global investment and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz\u2019s disruption has rippled through African economies. In Zimbabwe, rising fuel and fertiliser prices are a critical concern in a country where more than 70 percent of the population depends on agriculture, Monica Mutsvangwa, the country\u2019s minister of women affairs, community, small and medium enterprise development, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Uganda, another heavily agrarian economy, has also been hit, with fuel prices more than doubling, Sanjay Tanna, the country\u2019s minister of trade, industry and cooperatives, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The impact extends beyond the immediate cost of energy. Rising oil prices have disrupted supply chains, with effects lasting longer than anticipated, according to de la Mora.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe effects are lasting longer than we would have expected or would have wanted,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Friend to all, enemy to none\u2019<\/h2>\n

The shock has also exposed differences in how African economies weather global disruption.<\/p>\n

Uganda\u2019s reliance on subsistence farming has helped cushion the impact, with domestic food production offering some protection from international market volatility, said Tanna.<\/p>\n

But the country has not been insulated from financial pressures: its currency has lost 10 percent of its value against the US dollar, the minister said. The Ugandan shilling has steadily declined since mid-2026.<\/p>\n

For Zimbabwe, the crisis has reinforced the importance of attracting investment while maintaining economic ties across geopolitical divides.<\/p>\n

\"Monica
Monica Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe\u2019s minister of women affairs, community, small and medium enterprise development [Urooba Jamal\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amid the simmering trade war<\/a> between the US and China, Harare considers itself a potential partner to investors from either side, Mutsvangwa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a friend to all and an enemy to none,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoney has no color \u2026 If we get an investor who comes into our country, follows the rules and regulations of the country, makes his money, and Zimbabwe develops, that\u2019s what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

The official pointed to Zimbabwe\u2019s deposits of more than 60 critical minerals, including lithium and graphite, as well as its tourism potential.<\/p>\n

Trade in an unequal system<\/h2>\n

But attracting foreign capital remains a challenge for developing economies, with investment concentrated in a relatively small number of countries.<\/p>\n

That concentration is \u201cvery understandable\u201d, de la Mora said, arguing that investors need confidence that their money will generate returns.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapital is risk averse. Capital needs to have certainty that its investment is going to yield returns and it\u2019s going to come to fruition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Governments can help build that confidence through transparent institutions, the rule of law and investment in infrastructure, including reliable electricity, energy supplies and digital connectivity, she added.<\/p>\n

The question of whether the international trading system treats all countries equally prompted a more blunt assessment from Uganda\u2019s trade minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d said Tanna. \u201cThe world cannot be equal \u2026 It\u2019s unfair, but we believe that, within the space that we are in, we are in a good space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sanjay
Sanjay Tanna, Uganda\u2019s minister of trade, industry and cooperatives [Urooba Jamal\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Uganda was well placed for the future, he argued, because it produces its own food \u2013 an advantage at a time when international supply chains are under pressure.<\/p>\n

For both Uganda and the Republic of Congo, building resilient economies also means investing in younger generations.<\/p>\n

The Republic of Congo\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister for Coordination, Development Infrastructure and Land Planning, Jean-Jacques Bouya, said the country had aligned its national development plan, Vision 2063, with the African Union\u2019s broader development ambitions.<\/p>\n

Connectivity \u2013 through electricity, digital infrastructure and physical links \u2013 is central to that strategy, he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The Republic of Congo also wants to expand local processing so that more value from its natural resources remains within the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica can no longer be a reservoir of raw materials, and neither can Congo \u2013 a place where raw materials are extracted, taken elsewhere, processed and then sold back to us at a much higher price. We cannot go on like this,\u201d Bouya said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Doha, Qatar \u2013 African countries are feeling the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with rising fuel and fertiliser prices threatening to drive up food costs, according to trade ministers from the region and the United Nations\u2019 top trade official. The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz due to the United…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t