Multiple international organizations say the US, Israel, and Iran conflict poses serious risks to Africa's economy

Golden Finance reports that on April 6, the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme jointly released a policy brief, saying that the current heightened tensions in the Middle East are persisting and continue to disrupt key international shipping routes, energy supplies, and the fertilizer supply chain, which will lead to a significant slowdown in Africa’s economic growth and pose serious risks to African economies. The brief specifically noted that, due to disruptions in the transport of liquefied natural gas produced in the Persian Gulf, supplies of ammonia fertilizer and urea products are constrained, which will substantially raise this year’s fertilizer prices during the planting season from March to May, and further pass through to end-consumption sectors such as food. Institutions such as the African Union emphasized that the current situation has already seriously disrupted trade and driven up fuel and food prices, and that it may soon lead to a “cost-of-living crisis.” The brief said that continued increases in shipping and insurance costs, exchange-rate pressures, and tighter financial conditions would further intensify the severity of the crisis, leaving the poorest families to bear the heaviest burden. (CCTV News)