According to the CEO of a large fertiliser company, a global lack of fertilisers is pushing up food costs and putting poorer nations in jeopardy.
Higher gas prices, according to Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara International, are driving up fertiliser costs and hurting food prices throughout the world.
Fertilizer manufacture needs a big quantity of gas.
Mr Holsether stated that increasing gas prices caused Yara to decrease some output, resulting in shortages.
The shortages will be most severe in underdeveloped nations, according to the CEO, with agricultural yields dropping and food costs soaring.
“It’s terrifying; we’re in the midst of a food crisis, and the most vulnerable people are being affected most hard,” he told reporters.
“It has an influence on food costs all throughout the world, and it affects many people’s budgets. But for other individuals, particularly in underdeveloped countries, this isn’t just a matter of money; it’s a matter of life and death.”
Mr Holsether explained that with less fertiliser, farmers in underdeveloped nations will be unable to cultivate as effectively, resulting in lower yields.
Fertilizers are used by farmers to increase the yields of crops including maize, canola, and wheat. Hydropower or natural gas are now used in the production of ammonia, which is used in many fertilizers.
Gas prices have risen in recent months as a result of numerous reasons that have raised demand, including the opening of economies during the epidemic and decreasing wind or rain for renewable energy.
As a result, the cost of creating fertilizer has risen dramatically, with the price of ammonia, which Yara International produces more than anybody else in the world, up 255 percent year on year.
Mr Holsether described the situation as “very unpredictable,” and urged help and funds for the World Food Programme “to avert severe hunger.”
He said that Yara provided 40,000 tonnes of fertiliser last year, which enabled small-scale farmers in East Africa to triple their crop output.
He went on to explain, “It indicates a lot about the influence that fertiliser may have.”
