AFP, Geneva :
Global maritime trade should recover next year after tanking by 4.1 percent in 2020 owing to the coronavirus, a UN agency forecast Thursday.
“The pandemic has sent shockwaves through supply chains, shipping networks and ports, leading to plummeting cargo volumes and foiling growth prospects,” the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said in its annual review of maritime transport.
UNCTAD expects maritime trade growth to rebound y 4.8 percent next year, “assuming world economic output recovers”.
But “the short-term outlook for maritime trade is grim,” it noted.
“Predicting the pandemic’s longer-term impact as well as the timing and scale of the industry’s recovery is fraught with uncertainty,” the review added.
UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said the shipping industry will be at the forefront of efforts towards a sustainable economic recovery, “as a vital enabler of the smooth functioning of international supply chains.
