News

Written by: Sinan Dalli, Article No. 81 [UNCTAD Transport and Trade Facilitation Newsletter N°92 - Fourth Quarter 2021]

By Rachid Bouhia, UNCTAD Economist

By Paul Akiwumi, Director for Africa and Least Developed Countries, UNCTAD

UNCTAD predicts that annual growth in maritime trade between 2022 and 2026 will slow to 2.4%, compared to 2.9% over the past two decades.

UNCTAD warns that global consumer prices will rise significantly in the year ahead until shipping supply chain disruptions are unblocked and port constraints and terminal inefficiencies are tackled.

UNCTAD says the African Continental Free Trade Area could boost intra-African trade by up to 33% and cut the continent’s trade deficit by 51%.

The continent also remains the largest seafarer-supplying region in the world. Four of the top five countries supplying seafarers in 2021 were from Asia.

Slow progress in digitalization and paperless transactions, lack of transparency in regulatory procedures and weaknesses in long-term planning are among the issues holding back port performance in the region.

UNCTAD tests a new training game that helps port managers to come up with solutions to make their ports more resilient and compliant with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Written by: Mikael Lind, Wolfgang Lehmacher et al., Article No. 80 [UNCTAD Transport and Trade Facilitation Newsletter N°92 - Fourth Quarter 2021]