Hormuz disruptions hitting small businesses hardest, UN trade agency warns
UNCTAD said SMEs account for 90% of global businesses and face higher energy, freight and financing costs than larger firms.
- On Tuesday, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported that Strait of Hormuz disruptions threaten to push small and medium-sized enterprises out of global supply chains, weakening international trade resilience.
- Fighting in the Gulf resumed this month as Iran and the U.S. exchanged fire after a month of calm in August, sending global oil prices to levels unseen since July.
- SMEs account for around 90% of global businesses, 70% of employment, and 50% of world GDP, yet rising energy bills and financing constraints burden them more heavily than large corporations.
- UNCTAD spokesperson Marcelo Risi warned of an "SME exclusion effect," where smaller firms face forced production cuts or exit value chains entirely, even if global trade volumes recover.
- Brent crude prices rose more than 2% on Tuesday to trade above $99 a barrel, reflecting market shocks that have lowered shipping transit volumes and raised borrowing costs.
13 Articles
13 Articles
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned today that disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to the exclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises from global supply chains, increasing the control of a small number of large firms in a larger market share and weakening the flexibility of international trade.
Interruptions in the Strait of Ormuz can drive small and medium-sized enterprises away from global supply chains, increasing economic concentration and weakening the resilience of international trade, said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on Tuesday. Increasing energy accounts, freight rates, insurance premiums and financing restrictions caused by the conflict between the United States and Iran impose heavier burdens on sma…
Hormuz disruptions hitting small businesses hardest, UN trade agency warns
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more vulnerable to current trade disruptions due to their reduced ability to diversify suppliers, markets and sources of finance, warned the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The agency noted that the disruptions associated with the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [...]
Unctad warns that the crisis in the Strait of Ormuz reaches more small and medium-sized enterprises; understand the risk to global trade
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources are Center, 40% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
