Context: In late April, the U.S. detained a special forces soldier who had placed a significant wager on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, earning $400,000. The U.S. Department of Justice believes he may have known about the operation’s preparation in advance. Using insider information in transactions is illegal. Meanwhile, oil market trades also became the focus of attention. According to the Financial Times, on March 23, several traders bet half a billion dollars on a drop in oil prices just 15 minutes before Donald Trump posted about the truce with Iran, — a post that triggered the drop.. According to the publication, a similar story unfolded on April 7, with the bet approaching $1 billion.
Amid sharp fluctuations in oil prices, reports surfaced in Belarusian media outlets that the European Union was allegedly preparing to issue ration cards for food and essential goods due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade. On April 22, 2026, CTV reported:
“The EU is considering introducing ration cards for food and essential goods due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade. The authorities are also trying to come up with ways to prevent the uncontrollable rise in the cost of living and empty store shelves.”
The same story was reported the day before on the First Information Channel (News.by, owned by Belteleradiocompany). To support the claim, the segment cited European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde::
“A third of all fertilizers is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.If food prices rise significantly, this will push up inflation expectations, because we know that people pay particular attention to two things: food prices and petrol prices at filling stations.””
However, Lagarde’s actual speech did not mention food ration cards. She did use the word “rationing,” but not in reference to food. She meant the limited supply of resources and commodities that depend on the Strait of Hormuz, including fuel, helium for semiconductors, methanol, and fertilizers. In her speech, she gave specific examples. Specifically, it was said that about one-third of the world’s helium production comes from the Gulf states, and that losing this supply would severely impact semiconductor and other high-tech item production. Lagarde also mentioned methanol separately, noting that disruptions to its supply could cause problems for the chemical and plastics industries..
In other words, the head of the ECB did not propose introducing ration cards or claim that the EU would start rationing food. Her message was different: as long as supply chain disruptions remain limited, the economy adapts through price increases. But the longer the disruptions last, the greater the risk that scarce resources and raw materials will need to be used sparingly.
Moreover, she gave an example of rationing that was already in place, but it was not of food products.
“Overall, there have been so far limited signs of supply chain disruption both globally and in the Euro area, but local tensions are visible. Jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the outbreak of the conflict, and rationing has been imposed at some individual airports in Europe since early April,” Lagarde said.
This is precisely what European media outlets and companies have been reporting on as well. On April 10, Euronews reported that aviation fuel stocks in several European countries would only last 8-10 days before rationing would be necessary. For its part, Lufthansa was planning to cancel 20,000 flights over five months to save 40,000 tons of jet fuel.
Therefore, Christine Lagarde was not referring to food shortages or food ration cards for EU residents. Rather, she warned of risks related to energy resources, industrial raw materials, and fertilizers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
