War Engulfs the Gulf, Locals Gasp at the Pump

Apr 5 , 2026. By NAHOM AYELE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

From the warehouse floors to the flower fields, the Middle East war has intruded on streets, ports, and markets. Entrepreneurs and managers steer through a reality where a conflict thousands of kilometres away can affect trade, drive up costs, and disrupt livelihoods painstakingly built over decades. The war is no longer distant news. It is pervasive, reshaping the lives of Ethiopians today, reports NAHOM AYELE FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Biniyam Teklay has built his life around the rhythm of seasons, the beat of trade, and the delicate trust of clients spread across continents. As the founder and CEO of Bazen Plc, a small import-export firm with seven employees, he spent nearly a decade cultivating relationships with buyers across the Middle East. Each deal was built on years of trustworthiness and mutual confidence.

This year, the season called for chickpeas. Biniyam had carefully bought 20 containers worth 48 million Br, anticipating the fulfilment of long-standing contracts with clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, and India. The warehouse in Qality was stacked high with crates, the air thick with the earthy scent of chickpeas, a reminder of months of planning, negotiations, and investment. He has customers who depend on his exports, including an Iranian company that has worked with him for nearly seven years.

"That relationship is why I bought these chickpeas," Biniam told Fortune.

Ethiopia's exports to Iran are mainly edible vegetables, pulses, coffee, tea, mate and spices, worth 1.32 million dollars in 2023, while Iran shipped 1.89 million dollars worth of cereal, flour, starch, inorganic chemicals, and plastics the previous year. This amount may represent a fraction of Ethiopia's total exports during that year, compared to Saudi Arabia's 298 million dollars or the UAE's 163.8 million dollars.

But beneath the surface of routine business, the world has shifted for companies like Bazen. As the containers sat ready for dispatch, the Middle East erupted into war. The military conflict, ignited a month ago by coordinated airstrikes from the United States and Israel on Iranian targets, escalated beyond prediction. Iran retaliated with missiles and drones, striking U.S. and Israeli bases in the Gulf and Middle East. Yemen’s Houthis opened new fronts, and the entire region teetered on chaos.

For Biniyam, the impact was immediate and merciless. He felt like everything stopped abruptly, and while his company is searching for other buyers. His clients have shown little interest, while the chickpeas he bought remain stranded, tying up tens of millions of Birr.

"It's devastating," he told Fortune.

The war’s reach extended far beyond the warehouses of Qality. The Strait of Hormuz, the critical artery carrying nearly 20pc of the world’s daily oil supply, became a choke point, where no less than 2,000 vessels are stranded. Its partial closure sent shockwaves through global markets, as countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran depended on its safe passage to transport oil to Asia and Europe.

The Philippines declared a national emergency over the fuel crisis. Thailand urged citizens to work from home and limit air conditioning use, while Vietnam considered reducing flights to conserve fuel.

Ethiopia, wholly dependent on imported fuel, felt the effects with alarming immediacy. In Addis Abeba, long queues of taxis, buses, and service vehicles now stretch for more than two kilometres, with drivers staying overnight becoming common. The cost of goods surged sharply, transportation grids stuttered, and the once-predictable rhythm of daily life faltered under the weight of global turmoil.

The impact spread across industries with force. Vegpro Flower Farm, which employs nearly 1,000 workers and exports two million kilograms of flowers annually to Europe, saw its operations thrown into disarray. Shipments of flower boxes, fertilisers, and other essential inputs from the Middle East were discontinued, while diesel shortages compounded the pressure, turning the routine journey to the airport into a logistical ordeal.

Mahendra Patel, the farm’s Indian manager, spoke in an urgent tone, stating that they are struggling to obtain diesel.

"Getting diesel and transporting to the airport has become extremely tough," said Patel. "Everything is more expensive."

Shipping costs have surged. Exporting one kilogram of flowers, costing 1.90 dollars, climbed to 2.40 in a few days last week. With branches in Bishoftu (Debrezeit) and Weliso, the farm faces compounded difficulties steering through rural roads where diesel is scarce, and transport vehicles sit idle. The company was negotiating with buyers to raise prices, but so far, nothing seemed to be working. Every day brings new uncertainty.

As the import-export sector struggles under the ripple effects of the Middle East war, government officials appear focused on past achievements. Kassahun Gofe (PhD), minister of Trade & Regional Integration (MoTRI), appeared before Parliament last week to report on the export performance over the past eight months, which he praised as "unprecedented."

"In just eight months, Ethiopia achieved gains equivalent to the previous two years," the Minister told a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Trade.

Kassahun disclosed that 6.7 billion dollars were generated from export activities during the period, surpassing the eight-month target by 115.81pc. Agricultural exports accounted for 2.45 billion dollars, manufacturing exports reached 333.1 million dollars, and minerals brought in 3.6 billion Br. According to the Minister, sustaining the momentum remains a priority while acknowledging the pressure from the Middle East conflict, particularly the fuel crisis.

Beyond farms and warehouses, the entire trade infrastructure groans under this pressure. Three ships carrying 120,000tn of diesel and 60,000tn of jet fuel remain stranded in the Arabian Gulf. Ethiopia imported 60pc of its diesel and all jet fuel from Kuwait under long-term contracts, ensuring a predictable supply and stable prices. Now, with these agreements disrupted, federal officials like Kassahun were compelled to turn to the spot market, where fuel prices soar unpredictably.

Emergency procurements have pushed diesel prices close to 93 dollars a barrel, a sharp departure from previously stable contracted rates. The government’s subsidy burden has also surged beyond 272 billion Br, prompting another round of fuel price increases on April 1, 2026.

In Addis Abeba, the fallout is severe, as lines of vehicles snake through fuel stations for kilometres, with drivers waiting as daylight fades.

The Trade Ministry has prioritised fuel for transport trucks and humanitarian operations. Digital monitoring systems, including Telebirr, are being used to track distribution, while authorities detained 658 individuals and seized 720,000 litres of fuel, claiming to fight hoarding and black-market activities.

Amid this chaos, businesspeople like Tewodros Kebede, founding shareholder of World Global Transit & Logistics Plc, watch their businesses overwhelmed by the scale of the shortages. The company has a client with 44 containers of marble ready for export to India, but container shortages at dry ports have delayed shipments. Clients who paid in advance are growing impatient and risking their credibility.

Sultan Yusuf, manager of Kenzu & Sultan Import-Export Plc, deals with stranded electric vehicles. About 100 vehicles that were unloaded in Djibouti remain stuck due to fuel shortages, making it almost impossible to move them into the country. The Maritime Authority echoed this in a letter to the Customs Commission and other federal agencies, alerting that security concerns in the Middle East have made shipping lines hesitant to travel to Djibouti, leading to a growing shortage of containers.

Authorities urged faster container clearance at dry ports and called on stakeholders to facilitate the movement of goods from Djibouti, as 2,005 twenty-foot containers and 2,471 forty-foot containers are stationed at Mojo and Qality dry ports. He stated the need for swift unloading to enable timely redeployment for export cargo, pressing mounting pressure to ease bottlenecks in logistics and supply chain.

But people well-versed in the industry warned of a broader systemic strain. Despite shipments continuing through open routes, rising fuel costs and insurance premiums have pushed shipping costs up by about five percent.

"Operating at a loss is no longer sustainable," said a manager at the Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE).

Even with the prospect that the conflict in the Middle East could subside soon, the aftershock for Ethiopia is feared to linger for months. Tewodros anticipated that logistics, shipping, and commodity pricing would remain volatile, straining businesses and livelihoods that depend on timely transport. Previously, cargo moved directly to dry ports, but now, shipments are increasingly offloaded in Djibouti, creating inland container shortages.

"Without structural reform, these shocks will keep recurring," he said.

He argued that the federal government’s annual fuel procurement schedule worsens the situation and that monthly tenders could prevent such disruptions.

In Parliament, Minister Kassahun acknowledged the gravity of the crisis. Fuel is now a scarce resource, with daily diesel supply having been cut nearly in half, from 9.2 million litres. Priority now goes to public transport, logistics, factories, and large farms, while private motorists face rationing and long lines. The Minister warned that those violating the rules risk losing their licenses.

According to the Minister, this is "an unavoidable national sacrifice in which every citizen should bear personal inconvenience to safeguard essential services.

PUBLISHED ON Apr 05,2026 [ VOL 27 , NO 1353]