TOKYO -- A severe drought that has cut ship traffic through the Panama Canal is having ripple effects on the global food supply chain, forcing U.S. grain carriers bound for Asia to take lengthy detours through the Suez Canal or around southern Africa.
Maritime transport accounts for over 80% of global trade, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The bottleneck at the Panama Canal, a main maritime trade route through which roughly 13,000 vessels pass annually, threatens to raise food prices for Asian consumers.
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