Enjoy it while you can. Those fresh, crisp vegetables. The salad with your steak. The cheese plate after the main course. Almost every food that depends on fertiliser to make it to your plate.

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If this war in the Middle East drags on - and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to shipping - it won't just be oil and petroleum products that surge in price. Australia is also dependent on fertiliser which passes through the strategic waterway.

Last financial year, Australia imported 95 per cent of its fertiliser, 64 per cent of which came from the Gulf states. Qatar, which supplies 11 per cent of the world's urea, shut down its liquefied natural gas production. LNG is crucial for the production of nitrogen based fertiliser.

Australia buys roughly 12 per cent of all urea exported from the Middle East, making us particularly vulnerable. And the timing of this supply disruption, with our farmers preparing for winter crop preparation, couldn't be worse. They'll be competing with northern hemisphere producers gearing up for summer for a product in forced short supply.

Almost immediately, prices for urea surged and Australian farmers won't be immune from this conflict-driven supply shock. Nor will you and I when we're shopping for food to put on our tables.

We saw this during last June's 12-day war, when urea prices surged by $118 a tonne over seven days. With President Trump forecasting the war could drag on for five weeks or longer, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu conceding "it may take some time", that means more pain at the checkout as farmers pass on the cost of production to consumers.

It won't just be fresh veggies affected. One analysis published on Monday estimates wheat production costs per hectare will rise by between $45 and $60, canola by $35-$50, cotton by $120-$180 and dairy pasture management by $25 to $40.

Even the plastic packaging in which too much of our food is wrapped is set to rise in price because so much of the world's polypropylene comes from the Middle East. The Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates handles 65 per cent of the Gulf region's polymer exports. Like oil and fertiliser, these exports need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

A quick check of the Marine Traffic app yesterday showed a logjam of shipping on both sides of the strait but very little passing through. Understandable given Iran's threat to fire on any ship attempting to enter the strait and insurance companies cancelling their war risk cover.

The war might be a long way from our shores but distance offers no immunity from its effects. Yet there seems to be no urgency from the opposition apart from trying unsuccessfully to congratulate Israel and the US for launching their military campaign and banging on about Shiite mosques holding vigils and memorials for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Someone needs to remind them of James Carville's famous catchphrase from Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign: "It's the economy, stupid." The rest of us will be reminded if we again see $10 iceberg lettuces on the supermarket shelves.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you fear another spike in inflation because of the war in the Middle East? Has enough been done to address Australia's supply chain vulnerability? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- Australian personnel at a United Arab Emirates air base are all accounted for after it was hit by a drone strike as the war in the Middle East escalates.

- It's unclear whether the US-Israeli attacks on Iran will amplify or dampen inflation, Reserve Bank chief Michele Bullock says.

- Labor is being accused of disrespecting thousands of Australians who have given evidence to inquiries in the hope they would address the significant issues they're facing.

THEY SAID IT: "Two out of every five people on Earth today owe their lives to the higher crop outputs that fertiliser has made possible." - Bill Gates

YOU SAID IT: Past American presidents banned the assassination of heads of state but the current one had no such qualms about the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

"I find myself in surprising support of finally 'lancing the boil' in the Middle East and hopefully preventing further support to Russian and North Korea," writes Susan. "I also wonder how many Ayatollah supporters on the streets are there for performative reasons as they fear savage reprisals for lack of support."

Rob writes: "Trump had already trashed the international rules based order but his enabling of Netanyahu to take out Khamenei is a new low. The 'President of Peace' has struck. Our government is almost obliged to accept the transgressions of any US government, we are so tightly bound to them and their brand of diplomacy. Albanese is meekly following the path trod by successive PMs back to Harold Holt. The implications of not following the US during Trump's term are just that bit more onerous."

"Perhaps the age-old convention should be scrapped," writes Helen. "It protects leaders who sit safely at home or in bunkers giving orders that result in the deaths of thousands of civilians. Whether those leaders are painted as the good guys or the bad guys, all they really want is to prolong their own time in power while making a name that will go down in history and create more wealth for themselves. If the first casualty of any conflict is the leader and the higher echelons of government many wars would never start."

Jim agrees with Helen: "Heads of state should be prepared to accept all the consequences of wars they start. Agreeing amongst themselves that they should not be assassinated is (im)pure self interest. Kings used to lead their armies into battle in person, a disincentive to war if ever there was one."

"As far as international law is concerned it is the same as any law; if there are no repercussions for breaking it then it is a failed law," writes Mick. "Iran has sponsored terrorist groups to break international law for the last 30 years. Canberra's been paying overs for petrol even with the Strait of Hormuz open."

Phil writes: "Extrajudicial killing is all the rage in the USA. From police shooting their own citizens to bombing boats that might be carrying drugs to killing world leaders. The US is as bad as rogue states for dismissing the rule of law. But Iraq was about one thing. Oil."

"Albo saying that we 'stand with the brave people of Iran' by backing the bombing and murder of those same people is tragic beyond belief," writes Gwendolen. "If we're to support the attack of repressive regimes, Saudi Arabia and UAE are more worthy targets - unlike these countries, Iran's women have been attending university since the 1930s, they drive alone through Tehran and there is a progressive art scene involving women. Khamenei was a hideous leader, but Trump and Netanyahu have now committed far worse sins, and our government has backed them."

Charles writes: "Of course Albanese is right that few people will mourn Ali Khamenei. But Albanese, Marles and Wong by their grovelling acquiescence of Trump's actions have agreed that Trump can decide which leaders are good and which are bad. If Trump thinks they are bad then he can charge in and kidnap or kill them. The international rules-based order is certainly over when world leaders allow a deranged power-hungry megalomaniac to do what he likes."

"With the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei being reported as justified by our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister due in part because of his regime's role in the destabilisation in the Middle East, I look forward their celebration of the assassination of the leader of that other destabilising country," writes John.

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