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By Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary-General

UNCTAD nowcasts show that trade in services has not yet reached its pre-pandemic level, while merchandise trade is projected to have surpassed it by 15%.

But the world’s largest free trade area needs measures to boost productivity and expand opportunities.

UNCTAD estimates show that in the third quarter of 2021 world trade continued its strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic – albeit unevenly across countries and sectors.

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.