Nairobi, April 28 -- A rise in the price of petrol at the pump and costly fertilisers are just the beginning in the wake of the Iran war.

The loss of some 20 percent of the world's energy supplies has already been called the "greatest global energy security threat in history" by the International Energy Agency.

The agency has warned that today's crisis could dwarf the combined effects of the oil shocks of the 1970s - which caused several years of inflation, recessions and fuel rationing.

This will hit Kenyan consumers hard after pump prices skyrocketed this month.

The disruptions have seen local pump prices hit record levels, with a litre of petrol jumping from Sh166.54 to Sh197.60 as the price of diesel rose to Sh196.63 from Sh166.50...