‘Arms trade growth limited by global supply crunch’

The arms trade, which saw a growth in 2021 is facing difficulties when the war in Ukraine is increasing its demand….reports Asian Lite News

The worsening supply chain issues related to the pandemic are limiting sales of arms and military services across the globe, media reported.

The arms trade – which saw a growth in 2021 – is facing difficulties when the war in Ukraine is increasing its demand.

According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the top 100 arms companies sold weapons and related services totalling $592 billion in 2021, 1.9-percent more than the year before, news agency AFP reported.

 “The lasting impact of the pandemic is really starting to show in arms companies,” Nan Tian, a senior researcher at SIPRI, told AFP.

Disruptions from both labour shortages and difficulties in sourcing raw materials were “slowing down the companies’ ability to produce weapons systems and deliver them on time, it was reported.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also expected to worsen supply chain issues, in part “because Russia is a major supplier of raw materials used in arms production,” said the report’s authors.

But the war has at the same time increased demand. “Definitely demand will increase in the coming years,” Tian said, pointing to two factors that would impact demand.

Firstly, countries that have sent weapons to Ukraine to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars will be looking to replenish stockpiles.

Secondly, the worsening security environment means “countries are looking to procure more weapons.”

However, with the supply chain issues expected to worsen, it could hamper these efforts, the authors noted, it was reported.

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