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Middle East: Economic Response

My Lords, over three months ago, I was one of the first people to raise in this House the consequences on food security from the war in the Gulf. I declare my interest as somebody involved in the fertiliser industry, which makes me one of the better-informed commentators in this space. All around the world, nation states are taking steps to secure supplies. The EU is modifying its scheme to increase supply and mitigate costs. Other nations are implementing export bans. Ukrainian strikes on Russian production, taken together with the damage in the Gulf, are putting 50% of the world’s nitrogen fertiliser production at risk, and that has not been fully appreciated. Now, of course, sulphur shortages are creating a phosphate catastrophe. In this country, we hardly have tariffs on imported fertiliser, so announcing that as a concession is not going that far. The Government’s response, thus far, has been to propose insane fertiliser taxes that will drive food price inflation to new heights, increasing the price of beer, bread and biscuits. With the Cereals event, where British farmers congregate, next Tuesday and Wednesday—