The weekly number of container ship crossings through the Suez Canal decreased by 67% on an annual basis (Al Jazeera)
The volume of trade through the Suez Canal - which is suffering as a result of attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group in the Red Sea - has decreased by 45% during the past two months, according to what the United Nations announced, which is concerned about the repercussions on global trade as a whole.
Jan Hoffman, an official at the United Nations Trade and Development Organization (UNCTAD), said in a press conference yesterday, Thursday, “We are very concerned about the attacks against shipping in the Red Sea (...) which increase trade disruptions linked to geopolitics and climate change.”
According to UNCTAD, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal decreased by 45% in the past two months, due to Houthi attacks that prompted ship owners to suspend transit through the Red Sea.
The weekly number of container ship crossings decreased by 67% year on year, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
UNCTAD reported that the number of ships that crossed the Suez Canal decreased by 39% compared to the beginning of last December, according to Reuters.
Since last November, the Houthi group has been targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden linked to Israel, in solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to an Israeli war since last October 7.
Jan Hoffmann stressed that trade disruptions in the Red Sea raise concerns, given that more than 80% of global trade in goods takes place by sea and because “other important routes are also under pressure.”
Transit through the Black Sea was disrupted after the Russian-Ukrainian war, leading to global food prices rising in the months that followed.
Due to the drought, the water levels in the Panama Canal dropped significantly, resulting in reduced traffic.
The United Nations organization noted that "prolonged disruptions to major trade routes could affect global supply chains, leading to delays in the delivery of goods, increased costs and the risk of inflation," expressing its concern about global food prices.
More than two weeks ago, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said that the canal’s dollar revenue had decreased by 40% since the beginning of the year compared to 2023, affected by the Houthi attacks.
The Egyptian official stated at the time that ship transit traffic declined by 30% in the period from the first of January to the 11th of the same month on an annual basis.
Source: French + Reuters