What do disruptions in major trade routes mean for food security?

The flow of food, fuel, fertilizer and food between countries is essential to global food security, from farmers growing their crops to trucks being able to deliver produce to markets.

Conversely, when major shipping routes are disrupted, causing delays and sharp price rises, the effects reverberate across continents and threaten the most vulnerable communities.

Today, conflict is disrupting three important trade routes at the same time. Here we take a closer look at what is happening and why it matters.

Why do the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Black Sea matter for food security?

These trade routes play a vital role in moving the commodities that global food systems depend on:

• The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important routes for oil and fertilizer.
• The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which links trade between Asia, Europe and beyond.
• The Black Sea is one of the world's most important grain-export corridors. Russia and Ukraine account for around one-third of global wheat trade, much of it normally moving through Black Sea ports.

Disruptions in any one of these routes can affect global markets. When all three face pressure at the same time, it increases the risk of a triple chokepoint that could push tens of millions more people into hunger.

How do higher oil prices affect food security?

Food systems rely on energy at almost every stage. Fuel powers irrigation systems, fertilizer production, harvesting, food processing and transport. When energy costs rise, the cost of producing and moving food often rises too. As a result, food prices can increase for consumers thousands of kilometres from the conflict itself.

In Sudan, for example, the cost of a basic diet has risen by almost 40 percent since February 2026, driven in part by higher fuel costs. A disruption affecting oil shipments in one region can ultimately affect food prices somewhere else entirely. The disruptions also affect humanitarian operations. WFP's operations have been exposed to 20 percent higher shipping costs and 35 percent higher prices for airplane fuel – reducing the resources available to deliver life-saving assistance for people in need and placing additional pressure on resources at a time when needs are rising.

Why is fertilizer so important for food production?

Less fertilizer reaching farmers means smaller harvests. When fertilizer supplies are disrupted, delayed or become more expensive, farmers are forced to reduce how much they use. The suffocation of fertilizer exports has hit this planting season hard, especially across Africa and Asia. The effects are not always immediate – they often appear months later when harvests are smaller than expected and food supplies become tighter.

How can these disruptions affect food security in the future?

These disruptions could affect food security long after the conflicts themselves. Delays to fuel and fertilizer supplies can affect future harvests, while prolonged disruption to major trade routes can lead to higher costs throughout global food systems. Some of the most significant consequences could emerge months from now, during future planting and harvest seasons.

Keeping ports, shipping routes and food supply chains open and predictable is therefore essential to global food security.

Which countries are most vulnerable to these disruptions?

Countries that rely heavily on imports tend to face the greatest risks. Those in Africa and the Middle East – where conflict, displacement and climate shocks are already putting intense pressure on families – are particularly exposed. As a snapshot, a World Food Programme report has highlighted how over 6 million people in 3 countries are struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.

How are current trade disruptions affecting the World Food Programme’s operations?

These trading routes are also critical humanitarian lifelines: WFP relies on them to move food assistance to communities facing hunger around the world. Despite growing disruptions, WFP has continued to keep cargo moving by drawing on long-standing partnerships with shipping companies, freight forwarders and port operators that recognize the life-saving nature of humanitarian deliveries.

WFP also sources food as close as possible to where it is needed, helping reduce transport times, lower costs and limit exposure to disrupted routes. At the same time, our teams continuously develop alternative supply routes and contingency plans to ensure assistance can still reach vulnerable communities when traditional corridors come under pressure.

Ultimately, the flow of food, fuel and fertilizer helps keep global food systems functioning, supports future food production and enables WFP to reach people facing hunger when they need assistance most. Reducing disruptions today will help lower the risk of food insecurity tomorrow.