\n That could start to hit American farmers in the coming weeks, and it\u2019s particularly ill-timed because of the coming growing season.\n <\/p>\n
\n More than a quarter of the world\u2019s helium comes from Qatar and travels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Geological Survey<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The huge demand for AI chips has caused a global helium shortage for years. Helium helps cool equipment used for making semiconductors. That\u2019s why you\u2019ve seen some party stores run out or charge an arm and a leg to fill a balloon.\n <\/p>\n \n Certain chips are already in short supply, and that shortage is expected to make smartphones and computers more expensive later this year. If the industry also can\u2019t get helium, that could compound the problem.\n <\/p>\n \n Helium is also a crucial element in medicine, used to cool MRI machines, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine<\/a>. The industry has adapted by recycling helium<\/a> and working to source it from other locations, but medical test prices could eventually go up as a result.\n <\/p>\n \n Aluminum prices have shot up because of Trump\u2019s tariffs, and they recently surged to a four-year high because of the Strait of Hormuz closure.\n <\/p>\n \n Roughly 20% of the world\u2019s raw aluminum comes from the Middle East. Aluminum is used in a large number of building materials and could add to the already high cost of homebuilding.\n <\/p>\n \n US natural gas prices have come way down from the winter but remain higher than in previous years. The United States gets most of its electricity generation from natural gas.\n <\/p>\n \n But natural gas prices have absolutely exploded higher in Europe and Asia, doubling since the war started. That could send prices higher around the world and create more demand for US liquefied natural gas, keeping prices somewhat elevated for Americans.\n <\/p>\n Plastics and chemicals<\/p>\n \n Crude oil byproducts are key components of plastics, resins, polymers and petrochemicals, many of which are produced and shipped primarily from the Middle East.\n <\/p>\n \n For example, most of Asia\u2019s naphtha \u2013 a chemical used in paints and cleaners comes \u2013 through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services<\/a>. And resins and polymers used in packaging largely comes from the region, too.\n <\/p>\n \n The war has already prompted other regions that make those materials, including Latin America, to make more, and they\u2019ve responded to increased demand by raising their prices, according to S&P Global<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gettyimages-1183264279.jpg\")
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