The multifaceted impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Mr. Barkindo believes that about 7 million barrels of Russian crude oil is leaving the world market every day due to sanctions against Moscow related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The current fluctuations in the oil market are beyond OPEC’s control, and the EU has a responsibility to promote a pragmatic approach to the energy transition, the official said.

Unlike the US and UK, the EU imports most of its energy supplies from Russia. Therefore, experts warn that the EU’s attempt to cut this supply could lead to dire results.

On the same day, the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) forecast that the Russia-Ukraine conflict would deal a heavy blow to the global economy, thereby lowering its forecast for global trade growth in 2022 to one point. 2.4%-3% (compared to 4.7% in October 2021). According to the WTO, the crisis caused global GDP growth to fall to 3.1%-3.7% in 2022.

A bread seller in the capital Sanaa – Yemen on April 1 Photo: Reuters

According to the WTO, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed up food and energy prices, and reduced the ability of these two countries to export goods.

As the main destination for exports from Russia and Ukraine, it is difficult for Europe to avoid negative economic impacts. However, according to Xinhua News Agency, Africa and the Middle East are the most vulnerable regions as they import more than 50% of their grain needs from Ukraine and/or Russia.

Notably, the WTO warned that the current crisis threatens to raise concerns about international food security at a time when food prices are already high due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors. .

Sharing this concern, the charity Oxfam (UK) warned that rising food prices due to the crisis in Ukraine and escalating energy prices could push more than 250 million people around the world into extreme poverty. In a report published on April 12, Oxfam urged the international community to take urgent action, including debt forgiveness for poor countries.