The Weekly Tradecast by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the update to the UN’s Trade and Development Report with UNCTAD director Richard Kozul-Wright. On the positive side – despite high inflation, high interest rates and gloomy forecasts – the global economy grew 2.7% last year. The bad news – the update says – is that the positive momentum is going to waste and that growth looks set to be slower this year...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the connection between food, health and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with Bojan Nastav, a statistician with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  UN Trade and Development has teamed up with the World Health Organization to study the global trade of healthy and less healthy food.  At least 10% of the world’s people live in hunger. At the same ti...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that measures its success in "Gross National Happiness" with UNCTAD director Paul Akiwumi.  Bhutan and its 800,000 people now have an extra reason to be happy – after graduating from the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) into full developing country status. It's only the seventh nation in 50 years to make that ju...

Just ahead of Zero Waste Day, this episode of The Weekly Tradecast talks trash with UNCTAD economist Henrique Silva Pacini Costa. From plastic packaging to fast fashion to car batteries, we have been creating mountains of waste for decades. It’s everywhere – in landfills, in the air, in plants and animals and in our oceans – and it can take decades or even centuries to degrade.    We’ve recycled j...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at K-pop and other lessons for success from the creative economy of the Republic of Korea with UNCTAD economist Katalin Bokor.  Whether we've danced Gagnam style, listened to the songs of BTS and Blackpink, played video games or watched Korean TV shows and movies, the country's cultural impact is hard to ignore.   That catchy creativity is also paying big...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at how we can fight climate change by cutting the carbon emissions of our fisheries with David Vivas, an UNCTAD legal officer working on trade and environmental issues. The fishing industry is a vital source of food. And it provides work – directly or indirectly – for one in every 13 people on the planet. But there's a deep downside for the environment fr...

As we mark International Women's Day on 8 March, this episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of investing in women with special guest Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the UN’s trade and development body. Overall, the outlook for gender equality is not as bright as it should be. Women and girls make up nearly half of humanity but still lack equal opportunities in socie...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of remittances with UNCTAD economist Bruno Antunes. Around the world, migrants send home more than $830 billion in remittances, of which about $650 billion go to developing countries, according to estimates from the World Bank. That money helps to reduce poverty, improve nutrition and broaden access to education.  Listen in to Bruno Antu...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the impact on shipping, supply chains and trade from insecurity in the Red Sea with Jan Hoffman, head of UNCTAD's trade logistics branch.  About 80% of the world’s goods move by sea. But escalating attacks by Houthi rebels on ships passing through the narrow waters towards the Suez Canal have disrupted shipping routes and raised geopolitical tensions. ...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at UNCTAD’s tool to measure sustainable growth and some of the signs of progress with Anu Peltola, who is in charge of the organization’s statistics unit. For nearly 80 years, gross domestic product (GDP) has been the headline number to measure a country’s prosperity. To get a more detailed picture, UNCTAD's Inclusive Growth Index goes further by combinin...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the impact of the Israel-Gaza crisis on the Palestinian economy with UNCTAD economist Rami Alazzeh. Since the deadly assault by Hamas militants on October 7, Israel's military response has destroyed more than 37,000 buildings – about 18% of the Gaza Strip’s total structures – and displaced most of the 2.3 million people in the tiny enclave. With so muc...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the global financial architecture with UNCTAD senior economist Penelope Hawkins.  The war in Ukraine, a global cost of living crisis and the lingering pandemic have disrupted economies and piled on debt pressure with higher interest rates. For many countries, the debt distress presents stark choices between repaying loans, investing in development and...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how much it will cost to achieve them with Nour Barnat, chief of methodology at UNCTAD Statistics.    In 2015, UN members signed up to 17 SDGs that range from ending extreme poverty to tackling the climate crisis. The goals are supposed to be met by 2030 but most are off track because of th...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast talks about fertilizer and how harvests could wilt without more supply at cheaper prices with UNCTAD’s Sangram Rane, who is part of the UN task team focused on tackling global food insecurity. Before the war, The Russian Federation and Ukraine together accounted for almost a third of global wheat exports. Russia is also a major exporter of fertilizers and of ke...

In this special episode of the Weekly Tradecast, we’re looking back at some of our most popular podcasts over 2023 and the many challenges they address.  And what a year it’s been. Economic recovery is shaky as conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere fuel tensions and uncertainty. A cost-of-living crisis persisted throughout the year, with developing countries in particular feeling the...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast talks about the importance of the right kind of investment in tourism with UNCTAD’s Christiane Stepanek-Allen, chief of UNCTAD's investment partnership section. Before the Covid pandemic, the tourism industry accounted for about 4% of the global economy. Tourism is bouncing back – helped by a busy summer – but it's having to make up for massive losses during th...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at investing in sustainable development to help save our planet with UNCTAD economists Joseph Clements and Anthony Miller. Calls are growing more urgent for more spending on a clean-energy future and more support for developing countries bearing the brunt of climate change. The energy crisis is raising fears that many countries will postpone plans to shif...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the role that trade has to play in the clean energy transition with senior UNCTAD economist Chantal Line Carpentier.  Next week, the UN climate summit – COP28 – is dedicating a day to trade and how it can help fight climate change.  The global production and distribution of goods and services accounts for around a quarter of all emissions.  But to limi...

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at digitalization and its future with Torbjörn Fredriksson, head of UNCTAD’s e-commerce and digital economy branch. Technology is transforming every aspect of our lives – how we work, eat, shop, travel and interact. If done right and governed well, e-commerce and the digital economy can drive growth, innovation, development and better use of our resources...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the challenges of sustainable fishing with UNCTAD legal expert David Vivas. From farmed prawns to wild-caught mackerel, the fishing industry is a vital source of food – and livelihoods – all over the world. If the seas can sustain it, fisheries output is expected to top 200 million tonnes by 2030 as the global population grows.  But the industry also f...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast is looking at the UN’s Least Developed Countries Report 2023 with one of the authors, UNCTAD economist Matfobhi Riba. The world is facing soaring costs of food, energy and financing – along with extreme weather and geopolitical upheaval. Most vulnerable are the 46 nations classified as the least developed countries (LDCs). After some years of progress, the pand...

In this episode of The Weekly Tradecast, we’re talking about women and investment and why a lack of financing is undermining development with UNCTAD economist Stephania Bonilla.    For developing countries, having more female entrepreneurs offers the benefits of more jobs, new skills and growth for communities and economies. But gender inequalities in society mean women who are running or starting...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the urgent need to invest much more in healthcare with UNCTAD economist Bruno Casella. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have little or no access to essential health services. Improving their well-being is vital to support economic growth and to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.    But for many countries, there is just not e...

In this episode of The Weekly Tradecast, we’re looking at small businesses and ways to help them flourish despite economic turmoil with Arlette Verploegh, chief of UNCTAD’s entrepreneurship development section. First with the COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, many businesses are fighting for survival as costs of goods, energy and financing stay high and consumers tighten their belts. F...

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at the influence big trading companies have on food supplies and prices with Anastasia Nesvetailova, head of UNCTAD’s macroeconomic and development policies branch. Food costs have soared due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and extreme weather – pushing vulnerable countries and people to the brink. But as many households and businesses struggle, the l...