Strait of Hormuz caused 'most significant' supply disruption since COVID-19, start of Ukraine war: WFP

"For us, it's the most significant disruption of supply chains that we have seen since COVID and the beginning of the war in Ukraine," Corinne Fleischer, director of supply chain, told reporters in Geneva.

She said the agency currently has "70,000 metric tons of food that is impacted by the war in the Middle East," with shipments delayed or stuck in ports due to wider disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz.

"This has a whole upstream effect on vessels being stuck in ports, not berthing at ports, not leaving ports, (and) containers not being offloaded," she said, describing "a whole disruption of a global supply chain."

Fleischer warned the impact extends beyond the Middle East, with rerouting around Africa adding "about 25 to 30 days of shipping" and increasing costs by "between 15 and 25% of rates."

She said the WFP is seeking priority cargo access and has negotiated waivers on surcharges, achieving "cost avoidance of about already $1.5 million by now."

Still, she raised an alarm over growing humanitarian needs.

“Our projections are that by June, 45 million more people will be acutely hungry,” she said, warning of "more needs, higher costs, and us not being able to then reach people" with the current low level of financing of humanitarian operations.

She concluded by adding that all these higher costs and necessary rerouting translate into higher food prices everywhere, calling it a "big concern."