Figures show the costs of staples such as meat, cheese, butter and bread have continued to rise, putting pressure on family budgets.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the war was “creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
It said Iran’s chokehold on regional supplies is forcing oil producers in the Gulf to cut production.
Dr Emma Howard, an economist at TU Dublin, said higher energy costs would hit businesses that produce food and lead to higher transport costs.
“These increased production and transport costs will feed through the supply chain, resulting in higher prices on the supermarket shelves,” she said.
The latest inflation figures show food prices are continuing to rise. They were up by 3.4pc in the year to last month, higher than the overall inflation rate of 2.7pc in February, the Central Statistics Office said.
“While it’s impossible to know how long the war will last, what is certain is that the longer the duration, the bigger the impact on consumers,” Dr Howard said.
“In addition to increased oil and gas prices, grocery prices are likely to rise.”
Writing on the Brainstorm section of RTÉ’s website, she said higher energy costs would lead to higher costs for transporting food to shops, resulting in increased food prices.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz would negatively affect the price of fertiliser because 30pc of synthetic fertiliser passes through it, Dr Howard said. Around half of global food production depends on synthetic fertiliser.
Longer shipping routes will result in higher costs or a shortage of many consumer goods
The closure of the strait will also send shipping costs up – Ireland imports about 80pc of goods consumed.
“A drop in the global supply of fertiliser will increase food production costs, impacting on both the price and availability of crops and animal feed, again leading to higher food prices for consumers,” Dr Howard said.
“Longer shipping routes for globally traded commodities such as tea and coffee, and for goods produced in the Middle East, such as petrochemicals used in plastic packaging, will also result in higher costs or a shortage of many consumer goods.”
Thomas Pugh, of RSM Ireland, a leading accounting and advisory firm, said evidence of prolonged disruption could push energy prices higher.
That means inflation is expected to rise rather than ease over the course of this year.
Independent economist Austin Hughes said inflation in Ireland could jump sharply.
“Because energy is such a critical element in the food production line, from fertiliser to transport, the risks to Irish food prices are again skewed upwards,” he said.
He added that the increase in food prices will probably last for quite some time.
“From a position where it looked like Irish food price inflation was headed to 3pc or lower, it now looks like we will see food price inflation heading back towards 5pc,” Mr Hughes said.
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