Beyond the Strait of Hormuz crisis, Black Sea vessel attacks and Houthi offensives along a key Red Sea route compounded threats to global food security. (EPA Images pic)BANGKOK: A failure by the United States and Iran to agree within weeks on a UN-backed plan for moving fertiliser through the Strait of Hormuz could cause a food security crisis in parts of Asia and Africa, an official overseeing the proposed scheme said on Wednesday.

The United Nations set up a taskforce in March to facilitate passage of fertilisers through the strait. It is yet to implement the mechanism it drew up, but United Nations under-secretary-general Jorge Moreira da Silva said this could be activated within 7-10 days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.