Export restrictions are pushing up food prices and could further exacerbate the global “polycrisis,” World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the opening of the 12th WTO ministerial conference in Geneva on Sunday.
According to the official, the world has “become more complex” since the last ministerial meeting back in 2017, given the lingering Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and the ensuing food and energy crises.
“This polycrisis… is really unprecedented. And what is very central to all of this is that no one country can solve this crisis on its own. This is the time that you need the world working together. You need global solidarity,” she said.
Okonjo-Iweala drew attention to export controls, which, as she repeatedly stated, should be eased in order to avoid making an already dire situation worse.