Rice prices surge over 47% since start of Iran war, Hedgeye reports

US rice prices have climbed more than 47% since the Iran war began on February 28, 2026, according to Hedgeye. That’s not just a commodity chart spiking. It’s the cost of feeding billions of people lurching upward in real time. The conflict between the US and Israel on one side and Iran and its allies on the other has done exactly what military analysts warned it would: choke off the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical maritime bottlenecks on the planet. And when global shipping arteries get clogged, the price of everything that moves by sea goes up. Rice, it turns out, is no exception. How a war in the Middle East raises the price of rice The Strait of Hormuz handles a huge share of global oil and LNG trade. When military strikes and retaliatory actions make that passage riskier, shipping costs spike. Insurance premiums for vessels transiting the area balloon. And the knock-on effects cascade through every supply chain that touches maritime freight. Fertilizer prices have surged roughly 40% amid these disruptions. When it gets 40% more expensive, farmers either eat the margin or pass the cost along. Most can’t afford to eat it. India, the world’s largest rice exporter, has ...