The world needs maritime trade to face the stormy sea of crises, says the head of UNCTAD
The world needs the shipping industry again to overcome the stormy sea of crises, UNCTAD Secretary General Rebecca Greenspan said on September 22, speaking at the annual summit of the Global Maritime Forum.
Speaking at the New York Navy Yard, which at the height of World War II was called "the dockyard of the possible," Ms. Greenspan said the maritime trade was going through a "historic moment of crisis." Read her full statement.
The war in Ukraine disrupted major shipping lanes and supply chains. It has also triggered global food, energy and financial crises that have driven record prices and could push tens of millions of people around the world into hunger and poverty this year.
Maritime transport plays a key role in cushioning the blow, as ships carry more than 80% of the world's traded goods, including most of the food, energy and fertilizer that people now desperately need.
Ms. Greenspan praised the work that has already been done to help with the downloadand transport food and fertilizers from Ukraine as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative with the mediation of the UN and Turkey.
“I saw you swimming through literally mined waters. I saw you working with ports in the middle of a war zone,” she said.
"There are still rough seas ahead and we will need your bravery more than ever."
Reduction in food prices
According to the UN, a record 345 million people in more than 80 countries are now facing acute food shortages.
As of September 12, the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed the movement of more than 2.7 million metric tons of grain and other food products from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdenny (Southern).
The UN notes that all the grain coming from the three Ukrainian ports benefits the people who need it, as it helps calm the markets and limit the rise in food prices.
The initiative is successfully achieving one of its key goals: reducing food prices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations food price index showed a double-digit drop in the cost of vegetable oils and grains in July and a further drop of 1.9% in August.
"The Black Sea Grains Initiative and the agreement on unfettered access to Russian food and fertilizers are now proven concepts," Ms. Greenspan said.
"But that's only part of what can be done, and what the world needs, to bring prices down to acceptable levels for developing countries, or for the world to have enough fertilizer to feed itself next year."
Although global food prices are falling, domestic prices in many developing countries are still rising as their currencies struggle to compete with a stronger US dollar, which is driving up interest rates.
Prevention of lost cropping seasons
Ms Greenspan said the price of fertilizer - which is now three times higher than the average over the previous decade - was of particular concern because it was the highest input cost for many smallholder farmers around the world.
If farmers cannot afford or do not have access to the fertilizers they need, they will not be able to plant their crops.
"We've already lost the planting season in West Africa because of this," Ms Greenspan said.
If the fertilizer market does not stabilize, the entire food supply system could be in trouble.
"The food affordability crisis we're dealing with today could become the food affordability crisis next year because of the fertilizer problem if we don't act," Ms. Greenspan said.
"We need more ships. We need bigger ships," she said. "We need you. The world needs you." "The sea is stormy. Let's overcome them together."