Beyond the Mekong | Economy | Southeast Asia

The Iran War, ASEAN and Global Supply Chains

A logistics specialist discusses the nuts and bolts of getting goods to market as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continues into its second month.

Cargo ships approach Singapore, one of the world’s busiest shipping hubs, after passing through the Malacca Strait.

Chris Catto-Smith is a logistics specialist, a career that began with the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1970s. He then moved into the private sector and used his experiences in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, helping farmers and small businesses in getting their goods to market.

It’s a difficult job made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran that has upended oil deliveries through the Straits of Hormuz, which Catto-Smith says has led to “vessel bunching” out of ports like Singapore resulting in supply chain disruptions and lengthy delays.

As a result, perishable goods are rotting before they can be delivered and that is punishing financial returns for farmers at the gate and leading to higher prices in Southeast Asian markets where people by their food.

Catto-Smith, managing director of Freshport Asia, returns to Beyond the Mekong where he spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Kampot, Cambodia, about the issues confronting supply chains and what can be done to mitigate the impact of the war in Iran.

This is in addition to his usual work which aligns with Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, where he focuses on cold storage and the logistics needed in remote areas, where crops are grown but infrastructure and post-harvest skills required for market are lacking.

Get to the bottom of the story

Subscribe today and join thousands of diplomats, analysts, policy professionals and business readers who rely on The Diplomat for expert Asia-Pacific coverage.

Get unlimited access to in-depth analysis you won't find anywhere else, from South China Sea tensions to ASEAN diplomacy to India-Pakistan relations. More than 5,000 articles a year.

Unlimited articles and expert analysis

Weekly newsletter with exclusive insights

16-year archive of diplomatic coverage

Ad-free reading on all devices

Support independent journalism

Already have an account? Log in.

Chris Catto-Smith is a logistics specialist, a career that began with the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1970s. He then moved into the private sector and used his experiences in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, helping farmers and small businesses in getting their goods to market.

It’s a difficult job made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran that has upended oil deliveries through the Straits of Hormuz, which Catto-Smith says has led to “vessel bunching” out of ports like Singapore resulting in supply chain disruptions and lengthy delays.

As a result, perishable goods are rotting before they can be delivered and that is punishing financial returns for farmers at the gate and leading to higher prices in Southeast Asian markets where people by their food.

Catto-Smith, managing director of Freshport Asia, returns to Beyond the Mekong where he spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Kampot, Cambodia, about the issues confronting supply chains and what can be done to mitigate the impact of the war in Iran.

This is in addition to his usual work which aligns with Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, where he focuses on cold storage and the logistics needed in remote areas, where crops are grown but infrastructure and post-harvest skills required for market are lacking.

Luke Hunt is a Southeast Asia correspondent for The Diplomat. He has spent three decades working in the region and produces the Beyond the Mekong podcast. He can be followed on Patreon and X – formerly Twitter.

U.S.-Israel war on Iran

© The Diplomat