A Food Crisis Could Follow the Energy Crisis

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

S&P Global reports that global food prices face rising pressure from three converging factors: soaring diesel costs, reduced fertilizer supplies, and a strengthening El Niño climate pattern. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the flow of essential agricultural inputs like urea, ammonia, and sulfur, with sulfur prices increasing by approximately 70% between January and September. Diesel exports from the Middle East and Russia have also declined significantly due to the Iran conflict and Ukrainian drone attacks, respectively. S&P Global warns that crops weakened by lower fertilizer usage may be less resilient to the extreme heat and weather variations predicted by the current El Niño event.

Background

• S&P Global notes that farmers in Europe, Brazil, and Australia have recently reduced planted acreage for corn, soybeans, and wheat in response to higher input costs.
• Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global, stated that while energy crises appear immediately, food crises develop gradually over seasonal cycles.
• The report indicates that poorer nations, where food constitutes a large portion of household budgets, will likely experience the most severe impacts.
• Agriculture futures prices rose earlier in the year but have recently retreated slightly, though the specific impact on U.S. consumer prices remains unclear.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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