28/07/2023 (Agence Europe) – Despite a recent decrease, the number of measures restricting trade around the world remains worryingly high, according to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “I once again call on members to remove these export restrictions which contribute to making food prices more volatile”, she declared on Thursday 27 July. This is all the more crucial now that Russia has withdrawn from the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, she emphasised. At the end of 2022, 9.2% of world imports were affected by restrictions, according to the WTO. The organisation circulated a report on 14 July, noting a decrease in the introduction of such measures. Between mid-October 2022 and mid-May 2023, 110 restrictive measures were adopted, compared with 182 measures facilitating the trade in goods. See the WTO report: https://aeur.eu/f/89x (LM)