WTO cuts global trade growth forecast
The World Trade Organisation has cut its forecast for global trade growth this year, citing the impact of the Ukraine conflict.
The WTO now expects growth of 3%, down from a previous forecast of 4.7%. For 2023, it expects growth of 3.4% but said this forecast was less certain than usual due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at a press conference: "The economic reverberations of this conflict will extend far beyond Ukraine's borders.
"It's now clear that the double whammy of the pandemic and the war has disrupted supply chains, increased inflationary pressures and lowered expectations for output and trade growth."
She also warned of a potential food crisis.
"The war in Ukraine has created immense human suffering, but it has also damaged the global economy at a critical juncture. Its impact will be felt around the world, particularly in low-income countries, where food accounts for a large fraction of household spending," she said.
"Smaller supplies and higher prices for food mean that the world’s poor could be forced to do without. This must not be allowed to happen. This is not the time to turn inward. In a crisis, more trade is needed to ensure stable, equitable access to necessities. Restricting trade will threaten the wellbeing of families and businesses and make more fraught the task of building a durable economic recovery from Covid‑19."