Low water levels at Panama Canal disrupting shipping trends

The effects of climate change have significantly affected operations at the Panama Canal, contributing to a widespread shipping crisis.

As the pivotal channel of global trade grapples with diminishing water levels, Executive Chairman of the World Trade Center Georgetown, Komal Samaroo says a staggering 56 per cent reduction of the total transit has been recorded over the past month.

“What we are addressing here today is the attacks of the ships in the sea, particularly the Red Sea and of course there is the Panama Canal.

“Of course, climate change is not recognised as a major issue but it is,” Samaroo said.

Another contributing factor, Samaroo said is the ongoing war in Ukraine which has triggered “substantial” shifts, reshaping established trading barriers.

Samaroo was at the time giving a presentation at an inaugural forum of the World Trade Center Georgetown which focused on assessing the impact of Guyana’s supply chain in light of the recent shipping issues.

The forum was held at the Georgetown Club in the capital Thursday night.

Once fully operational later this year, Samaroo said the issue will be among a series of others which will be tackled by the center, in collaboration with its global partners.

Given the country’s small population and abundance of resources, Samaroo said if Guyana’s export production is to expand, the country will need access to international markets.

But with the existing shipping woes, Samaroo said this will be a challenge.

At Thursday’s forum, experts gathered to share their views on the issue and to discuss how it can be addressed in the long term.

As he referenced international reports, Samaroo pointed out that due to the shipping crisis which has resulted in delays in shipments worldwide, global trade in goods declined by $2 trillion, compared to 2022.

While trade in services increase by $500 million, he said.

“The decline was preliminary influence by the diminished demand in developed nations, under performance in east Asian economy and increase in commodity prices,” Samaroo noted.

He further pointed out that there has also been a shift in the dynamics with global trade internationally as it becomes more concentrated and geopolitically close.

And it is in this context, he said, that the move by regional governments to reduce to food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 might be the “right” policy to stimulate economic growth within the region.