Protracted Hormuz crisis could trigger agrifood catastrophe, UN food agency says

ROME, April 13 (Reuters) - A prolonged crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global agrifood catastrophe by disrupting fertiliser and energy exports, driving up food prices and squeezing crop yields, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Monday.

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said poorer countries were most exposed because planting calendars meant delays in access to key inputs could quickly translate into lower output, higher inflation and slower global growth.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, editing by Gavin Jones)