News

UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan said vulnerable nations need more support to face a severe cost-of-living crisis while still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heads of the two UN bodies call on world trade ministers to align policy and action to achieve global food security.

UN Global Crisis Response Group urges stability in global food and energy markets to break the vicious cycle of rising prices across the world.

By Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD

Written by Dr. Parag Mallick, Associate Professor, Stanford University, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Nautilus Biotechnology

UNCTAD’s rapid assessment of the war’s impact on trade and development shows a rapidly worsening outlook for the world economy, with the situation especially alarming for African and least developed countries.

The war in Ukraine has had immediate effects on world food markets. Both Ukraine and Russia are global players on agricultural commodities that are essential for food security, such as wheat, barely, corn or sunflower oil and seeds.

Around one third of the food produced is never eaten, even as 10% of the world population faces hunger each day. The resources used, including water, land and energy, also go to waste.

UNCTAD fosters South-South cooperation to build developing countries’ know-how on using satellite data to monitor crop conditions for better agricultural productivity.

By David Bicchetti, Carlos Razo and Miho Shirotori