UNGA 81 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Rome Coalition for Fertilizer Access and Food Security Statement

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fertilizers and food security are central to FAO's mandate.

The current status of global food security urges decisive and coordinated action.

Food security risks are coming from a series of sequential and simultaneous shocks.

The conflict in the Middle East has triggered a compound crisis, which has impacted energy markets.

Brent crude rose 39 percent above pre conflict levels.

Natural gas spiked by 129 to 139 percent.

Fertilizer markets, critical for the next planting season, have been severely disrupted.

The Gulf supplies 30 to 35 percent of global urea; 50 percent of sulfur exports; and 20 to 30 percent of ammonia.

DAP prices rose 26 percent, while 1.5 to 3 million tonnes of monthly fertilizer trade were delayed.

Maritime chokepoints are under simultaneous pressure.

The Strait of Hormuz - carrying one quarter of global seaborne oil and 20 to 30 percent of traded fertilizer - saw tanker movements fall by over 90 percent.

As a result of these compounded crises, the FAO Food Price Index rose 1.9 percent in August.

Cereal prices rose 2.2 percent. Cereal prices are a very sensitive issue. A one cent per kilo increase in price can have a major impact.

Wheat is 15 percent above the level one year ago.

Global wheat production is forecast at 3.8 percent below 2025.

Low-income countries experiencing food inflation above 5 percent have increased from 40 to 45 percent.

And El Niño, heat, and drought are now overlapping with these geopolitical shocks, threatening production prospects in Australia, the United States, and Europe simultaneously.

Even now the United States is seeking to open imports of potassium from Belarus.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are witnessing the interaction of shocks, and the most vulnerable are those combining high food and fertilizer import dependence with limited foreign exchange reserves, high debt burdens, and weak fiscal space.

Our response must be in the short, medium, and long-term.

In the short term, we must:

One: Keep trade open and avoid export restrictions which increase global price volatility.

Two: Enhance market transparency through AMIS - the Agricultural Market Information System - providing a common, real-time picture of production, stocks, trade, fertilizer markets, and logistics.

Three: Support vulnerable households through targeted social protection, protecting both availability and affordability of food.

And Four: Protect humanitarian logistics and secure alternative trade routes.

In the medium term, we must:

First: Diversify import sources and coordinate procurement across suppliers, ports, and routes.

Second: Secure farm viability by protecting planting windows,

In the long term, we must:

One: Invest in sustainable agriculture and energy, especially this year in Europe there is no infrastructure for water harvesting for agriculture.

And Two: Promote market resilience through diversified and redundant networks across suppliers, ports, maritime routes, inland corridors, and energy sources.

Dear Colleagues,

FAO reaffirms its commitment to support the countries of this coalition through:

• Our technical expertise;
• Policy analysis;
• Market transparency, now expanded to fertilizers.
• Technical assistance on trade facilitation, logistics diversification, and social protection design;
• Early warning systems;
• And country support operations with our Analytical Support Mechanism for Agrifood System Country Programming and Evidence (SCOPE) initiative, as well as through our extensive network of country offices. We have had three years of trials, and it is now time to share it with you.

Also, we appreciate host country support, including through a broadband system, in our 193 Members.

FAO is committed to continue working with you, every step of the way.

Thank you.