Global food prices now have another reason to rise

The intensifying struggle for the world's increasingly scarce supplies of industrial sulfur could lead to higher food prices. This was reported by the Financial Times (FT).

According to him, disruption of the Strait of Hormuz resulted in a serious shortage of sulfur, a by-product of the oil and gas industry. It is used to produce sulfuric acid, necessary for the production of copper and phosphate fertilizers. Before the US attack on Iran, approximately half of the world's sulfur flowed through the Iranian Strait. However, the blockade of this route has caused the price of sulfur to rise to almost ten times its pre-conflict level. Sulfur typically sold for $100 to $200 a ton, but prices have jumped to nearly $1,000 this year.

To make matters worse, wealthy mining companies are undercutting fertilizer producers, forcing them to cut production. In addition, China, a major supplier of sulfuric acid, banned the export of this product, which complicated the situation even further.