2024-01-25 23:58:12
Also read: Red Sea attacks drive up prices
Solidarity with the Gazan people
Since November, Yemeni Houthi rebels have said they are targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that they consider linked to Israel, in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza. The disruptions to trade in the Red Sea are all the more worrying given that “more than 80%” of global trade in goods is carried out by sea and that “other important routes are already under tension”, underlined the expert from UNCTAD.
Thus, transit via the Black Sea was largely disrupted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to a surge in global food prices in the months that followed. And due to a drought, the water level in the Panama Canal has dropped significantly, reducing traffic. Thus, last month, the number of passages through this canal fell by 36% compared to a year earlier, and by 62% compared to two years earlier, according to UNCTAD.
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“Prolonged disruptions on major trade routes could affect global supply chains, leading to delays in deliveries of goods, increased costs and a risk of inflation,” notes the UN agency, expressing particular concern for world food prices.
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