WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The UN trade and development body has warned that global maritime trade is entering a period of fragile growth, rising costs and mounting uncertainty.
After firm expansion last year, seaborne trade volumes are forecast to rise by just 0.5 per cent in 2025, the slowest pace in years, according to UNCTAD's Review of Maritime Transport 2025, launched in Geneva.
The slowdown comes as geopolitical tensions, new trade barriers and climate pressures reshape shipping routes, push up costs, and expose vulnerabilities in the global economy.
'The transitions ahead - to zero carbon, to digital systems, to new trade routes - must be just transitions,' said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. 'They must empower, not exclude. They must build resilience, not deepen vulnerability.'
Shipping carries more than 80 per cent of the world's merchandise for export and import, making it a critical barometer of global commerce.
UNCTAD reported that rerouting caused by crises in the Red Sea last year and continuing tensions near the Strait of Hormuz have forced ships onto longer journeys, adding delays and costs.
At the Geneva launch, Regina Asariotis, Chief of UNCTAD's Trade Logistics Branch, warned that vulnerable economies are paying the heaviest price:
'The global environment has become more complex. Geopolitical tensions are forcing costly reroutings, tariffs are disrupting trade flows, and freight rates are high and volatile.'
'Small island developing States, least developed countries, and net food importing nations are the most vulnerable, because higher freight costs quickly translate into more expensive imports and food insecurity.'
Global ports are struggling with congestion, longer waiting times and the pressure to modernize, the report said. UNCTAD highlighted the urgent need to invest in digital systems such as maritime single windows and port community platforms to cut costs and delays.
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