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11:22 18.04.2026 •
There are growing fears that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could lead to shortages of carbon dioxide, which is vital to the Britain’s food industry. Chicken and pork are among the items which could be in short supply, ‘The Mirror’ stresses.
Shoppers in the UK could face shortages of some supermarket items over the coming months if the Middle East conflict continues, a secret government analysis has found.
Currently the key oil trade waterway the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iran and blockaded by the United States Navy, which is turning Iran’s shipping back. Latest talks on a peace deal have fallen through and the April 8 two week ceasefire ends on April 22 with the possibility hostilities will start again.
There are also increasing fears Iran’s proxy force the Houthis in Yemen could become involved and help further block shipping with attempts to do so on the Baba al-Mandeb straight. This is a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Most exports of petroleum and natural gas from the Persian Gulf that transit the Suez Canal or the SUMED Pipeline pass through both the Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Times reported that senior officials, including from No 10, the Treasury and Ministry of Defence, have secretly rehearsed scenarios looking at the potential impact on British industry in an event codenamed “Exercise Turnstone”. The scenario prepped for the session was set in June 2026 and assumed that the strait had not reopened and a permanent peace deal had not been reached.
The farming and hospitality industries are likely to be hit earliest and hardest because CO2 is used to help increase the shelf life of food. Breweries would also be hit because the gas is used to make drinks fizzy. Government insiders stressed that the reasonable worst-case scenario was not a prediction, but a part of normal Whitehall planning.
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