The volume of goods passing through the Suez Canal, which is suffering the effects of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea, has fallen by 42% in the past two months, the UN estimates, worried about an increasingly serious impact on world trade.

“We are very concerned about the attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea (…) which exacerbate trade disruptions due to geopolitical factors and climate change,” emphasized Jan Hoffmann, executive of the Conference, during a press conference on Thursday of the United Nations on Trade and Development (CNUCED in French, UNCTAD in English).

According to CNUCED, due to the Houthi attacks, which forced major shipping lines to suspend Red Sea crossings and send their ships around Africa, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal fell by 42%. last two months.

The number of weekly container crossings has fallen by 67% compared to the same period in 2023. As it is “the largest container ships that no longer use the Suez Canal, the decline in container volume is even greater,” Mr. Hoffman explained.

The reduction in the passage of tankers carrying oil is 18%, that of ships transporting bulk cargo (grain, coal…) 6%, while gas transports have completely stopped.

Since November, Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they have been targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say are linked to Israel, in a show of “solidarity” with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The disruption of trade through the Red Sea is even more worrying as “over 80%” of world trade is carried out by sea and “other important sea lanes are already under pressure”, Mr Hoffmann said.

Trade via the Black Sea has been in huge trouble since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which sent food prices skyrocketing in the months that followed.

While, due to drought, the water level in the Panama Canal has receded, causing a reduction in traffic. Last month, the number of crossings through this Canal was down by 36% compared to the corresponding month in 2022 and by 62% compared to the corresponding month in 2021, CNUCED pointed out.

“Prolonged problems in major maritime trade routes” could “hit global supply chains”, leading to “delays in goods deliveries”, “cost increases” and raising the risk of rising “inflation”, according to the UN agency, the which is especially concerned about food prices on an international scale.