- Energy Agency (IEA) have warned that the escalating war in the Middle East is creating a “substantial and asymmetric” impact, hitting low-income countries the hardest through surging costs.
- Fuel and fertilizer prices are expected to remain elevated for an extended period due to infrastructure damage and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening global crop yields.
- The FAO Food Price Index rose for a second consecutive month in March 2026, driven by a 5.1 percent jump in vegetable oils and a 7.2 percent surge in sugar prices as energy costs spike.
The world’s leading financial institutions have formed a high-level coordination group to respond to the growing economic fallout from the Middle East war.
Eko Hot Blog reports that in a joint statement released on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, the heads of the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the IEA warned that the conflict has moved beyond a regional crisis to become a global threat to food and energy security.
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The institutions noted that while the global economy was still recovering from previous shocks, this new wave of instability has driven up the prices of oil, gas, and fertilizers.
For Nigeria and other import-dependent nations, this translates to higher costs for essential staples and critical agricultural inputs.
“The situation remains very uncertain, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is yet to normalize,” the statement read, adding that even a return to regular shipping flows would not immediately fix the supply deficit.
One of the most significant concerns highlighted by the IMF and World Bank is the “prolonged” nature of high fertilizer prices.
With energy routes under fire, the cost of producing and transporting nitrogen-based fertilizers has skyrocketed. This creates a dangerous cycle where farmers cannot afford to plant, leading to lower harvests and even higher food prices in the coming seasons.
Report notes that global food commodity prices rose by 2.4 percent in March alone. Vegetable oils led the surge, standing 13.2 percent higher than they were a year ago.
This trend is exacerbated by the fact that high crude oil prices are forcing countries like Brazil to divert sugarcane and vegetable oils away from food and toward biofuel production, further tighteningj the global food supply.
Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the FAO, warned that countries burdened by high debt, including many in Sub-Saharan Africa, face the greatest risks.
Rising import costs could force governments to cut back on food purchases or shift to lower-quality supplies, worsening malnutrition and poverty rates.
To cushion the impact, the World Bank and IMF are preparing tailored financial assistance and policy advice for the most affected countries.
The FAO has also urged nations to secure alternative trade routes for agricultural products and strengthen social safety nets to protect the most vulnerable populations from the “highly asymmetric” weight of this war.
