المملكة: United Nations: Supply chain disruption due to Iran’s largest war since Covid

Corinne Fleischer, director of supply chains at the United Nations program, said during a press conference in Geneva: "It is the biggest disruption we have seen since Covid and the start of the war in Ukraine"

The Strait of Hormuz

The United Nations reported that seventy thousand tons of food were affected by this situation, noting that part of these quantities are loaded on ships, while the other part is in containers. "Stuck in ports"

Although the World Food Program does not directly use the Strait of Hormuz to transport its cargo, "The entire global logistics network is experiencing disruption" According to Fleischer, she talked about stuck ships, crowded ports, or containers that have not been unloaded.

She explained that these problems may continue for several months, as happened after the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Transportation cost

Also, the program faces a significant increase in the cost of transportation, especially since the majority of transport companies avoid crossing the Suez Canal.

She pointed out that taking the Cape of Good Hope route leads to lengthening trips at a rate It ranges between 25 and 30 days, and increases the cost by between 15 and 25 percent.

In order to deliver food supplies from Pakistan to Afghanistan, the program was forced to specify a land route through the Middle East and Central Asia due to the conflict between the two mentioned countries and the war in Iran, which means adding about a thousand euros to the cost of each ton with a delay of three weeks.

The crisis was reflected in some countries in local transportation costs, as in Lebanon (45 percent) and Afghanistan. (Three times the original cost).

Food Security

Fleischer said: "We are not worried about the people who go to gas stations, but rather about the population who allocate up to seventy percent of their income to buy food."

The program warns that 45 million people may suffer from food insecurity by June, adding to the 318 million already facing this crisis.

Fleischer commented: "We are really concerned about the increasing needs, rising costs and the risk of not being able to reach the population due to this situation".