The choke points reshaping how the world eats
From the Panama Canal to the Bosphorus, narrow waterways carry disproportionate weight in the global food system.
Roughly two-thirds of internationally traded grain passes through six maritime choke points. When any of them tightens, the effects ripple through prices and availability far beyond the shipping industry.
The Panama Canal, constrained by low water levels; the Bosphorus, watched closely for security risk; the Strait of Hormuz; the Suez Canal; the Malacca Strait; and the Kerch Strait. Each has featured in food-price stories over the past three years.
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