Global food supplies could be badly hit if Iran war drags on, says fertiliser boss

Shortages of fertiliser could hit harvests of crops such as potatoes, Svein Tore Holsether said. Photograph: Andrew Michael/Alamy

The boss of one of the world’s largest fertiliser companies has said global food supplies could be badly damaged this year if the Iran war becomes an extended conflict.

Svein Tore Holsether, the chief executive of Norway’s Yara International, has called on global leaders to consider the impact that soaring food prices will have in some of the world’s poorest countries “before it is too late”.