The UN trade body sounded an alarm on Thursday that global trade is being disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea, the war in Ukraine, and low water levels in the Panama Canal. Jan Hoffmann, a trade expert at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development known as UNCTAD, warned that shipping costs have already surged and energy and food costs are being affected, raising inflation risks. Since attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea began in November, he said, major players in the shipping industry have temporarily halted using Egypt's Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and a vital route for energy and cargo between Asia and Europe. The Suez Canal handled 12 per cent to 15 per cent of global trade in 2023, but UNCTAD estimates that the trade volume going through the waterway dropped by 42 per cent over the last two months, Hoffmann said. Since November, the Iranian-backed Houthis have launched at least 34 attacks on