World trade in peril, says WTO
In mid- April, the WTO published its analysis on the implications of the war in Ukraine for global trade and development. The WTO secretariat's note, ‘The Crisis in Ukraine: Implications of the war for global trade and development’, anticipates that the crisis could lower global GDP growth by 0.7-1.3%.
The note also projects that global trade growth this year could be cut almost in half from the 4.7% the WTO forecasted last October to between 2.4% and 3%.
Despite their relatively small shares in overall world trade and output, Russia and Ukraine are important suppliers of essential products, notably food and energy. Both countries supplied around 25% of wheat, 15% of barley and 45% of sunflower product exports in 2019. Russia alone accounted for 9.4% of world trade in fuels, including a 20% share in natural gas exports. (sh)