Egyptian smallholder farmers are being squeezed by surging input costs triggered by the war in Iran, with fertiliser and fuel prices nearly doubling in some cases, forcing many to lay off workers, idle irrigation pumps, and abandon fertiliser-intensive crops such as wheat. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz (a narrow waterway through which roughly a third of globally traded fertilisers and a fifth of liquefied natural gas normally pass) have roiled global energy and commodity markets, while Egypt's heavy reliance on imported fuel has left it particularly exposed; fuel prices rose up to 30 percent in March alone, and the Egyptian pound has lost around 15 percent of its value since the conflict began, pushing up the cost of imported seeds and feed. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's chief economist warned that farmers face difficult choices — reducing inputs, switching crops, or cutting irrigation — and that even if the strait reopens, markets could take six to eight months to recover, a serious concern for a country that imports 12–14 million tonnes of wheat annually to sustain its subsidised bread programme.