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The Callisto tanker sits anchored in Port Sultan Qaboos as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, on March 12, 2026. – Benoit Tessier\/Reuters<\/p>\n
Oil and liquefied natural gas tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> carry around 20% of the world\u2019s supply<\/a>. But for countries on the Persian Gulf, the waterway is more than just an energy route \u2013 it\u2019s a lifeline for more than 100 million people.<\/p>\n Now, as the United States and Israel\u2019s war with Iran chokes this vital stretch of water, it\u2019s also straining food supply into the region.<\/p>\n Thriving in this harsh climate takes effort. With summer temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and little cultivatable land, much of the Gulf Arab states\u2019 drinking water comes from the sea via desalination plants<\/a>. Most of their food, however, must come from abroad.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia imports more than 80% of its food, the United Arab Emirates around 90%, and Qatar about 98%. In Iraq, too, the bulk of food imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the country\u2019s access to two major rivers.<\/p>\n In total, the majority of the food shipments to the region pass through the strait, a passage that is now all but blocked due to attacks on commercial ships<\/a> in the area.<\/p>\n With the waterway effectively closed, food shippers are scrambling to find alternative routes \u2013 routes that are costlier and logistically strained, and that cannot fully replace lost flow, raising the prospect of higher prices and reduced choice for consumers.<\/p>\n Even Iran depends on the Strait of Hormuz for much of its trade.<\/p>\n The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that supply chains may really be on the brink of the most severe disruption since Covid-19 and the start of the full-scale Ukraine war in 2022.<\/p>\n Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the WFP, says shipping costs have risen sharply.<\/p>\n Retailers say that, while there\u2019s no imminent hunger crisis in the Gulf region, the conflict has upended sea freight.<\/p>\n Customers shop inside a Spinneys supermarket in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 1, 2024. – Natalie Naccache\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Kibsons International, a UAE-based fresh food and vegetable retailer, imports 50,000 tons of food per year sourcing food from countries like South Africa and Australia and says the focus now is on rerouting shipments.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, the supply chain is extremely challenging,\u201d said Daniel Cabral, procurement director at Kibsons.<\/p>\n According to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British military-run monitoring agency, almost two dozen vessels have been attacked in the region since the start of the war on February 28, including a cargo vessel off the coast of Oman. Shipping companies are therefore unwilling to take the risk of moving through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Another issue is the number of vessels already at sea. Kibsons has \u201ctons\u201d of food \u2013 mostly fresh \u2013 in containers on ships currently waiting outside the strait, Cabral told CNN, with no confirmed arrival dates or even ports. \u201cThere is a lot of uncertainty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the cost of insurance.<\/p>\n The price of doing business<\/p>\n Buried in the fine print of shipping contracts are \u201cwartime clauses\u201d that have now kicked in, Cabral said. These clauses protect ships from entering dangerous territories and give them the right to choose a dropoff port for shipments.<\/p>\n One of Kibsons\u2019 containers, originally destined for Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, is now in Mundra, India. Another was rerouted to Colombo, Sri Lanka. But simply reaching land is far from the end of the conundrum.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shipping line has said, \u2018what would you like to now do with it? Would you like to sell it within India?\u2019 Or, you know, \u2018what is your plan with it?\u2019 And that puts us in a very difficult position,\u201d Cabral added.<\/p>\n A family sits against the backdrop of a dockyard off the UAE’s coastal city of Fujairah, on the Strait of Hormuz, on February 25, 2026. – Giuseppe Cacace\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Insurers and shipping companies now see the wider Middle East region as one of heightened risk.<\/p>\n Shipping companies have slapped $4,000 surcharges per container destined for \u201cthe entire Middle East,\u201d Cabral said. On dry land, trucking and logistics costs range from $4,000 to $9,000 per container to move goods onward to the UAE, Cabral added.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, we were looking at some of our containers out of Europe, and what we would normally pay is 3,000 euros (around $3,400) for on freight. The quote came in at 14,500 euros, and that\u2019s to get it to Jeddah,\u201d Cabral said, referring to the Saudi Red Sea city. \u201cThen you would still need to truck it from there with even additional costs, so it is just too expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n And those costs will eventually be passed on to the consumer. Cabral said Kibsons might increase prices by up to 20% on some products, such as dairy and some fresh produce. \u201cWe have about a month of inventory of fresh produce in warehouses.\u201d<\/p>\n Air freight is also a vital lifeline for the region, but this has also been plagued by problems in recent weeks.<\/p>\n An Emirates aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from a fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on Monday. – AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Customers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6ede86a41a1a82cbeedf788d59d9bd4c.jpeg\"\/)
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