Growth in arms trade slowed by supply problems, report says

The sale of arms and services for the military sector increased in 2021 worldwide, but it was affected by supply problems linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to a new report (in English) from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Monday 5 December.

According to this document, the 100 largest arms companies sold weapons and services intended for the military sector for a total of 592 billion dollars (about 562 billion euros) in 2021. This represents an increase of 1 .9% compared to 2020.

This growth, however, was severely impacted by widespread supply chain issues. “The lasting impact of the pandemic is really starting to show in arms companies”, Nan Tian, ​​researcher at SIPRI and co-author of the report, told AFP. Problems in terms of shortage of labor and supply of raw materials have “slowed down the ability of companies to produce weapons systems and deliver them on time”. “What we’re really seeing is possibly slower growth than many had expected in arms sales in 2021.”

A rise in demand with the war in Ukraine

Supply problems are expected to worsen with the war in Ukraine, especially “because Russia is a major supplier of raw materials used in the production of weapons”but also because the conflict has led to an increase in demand, according to the report.

However, it remains difficult to assess the level of this increase, according to Nan Tian. This depends on the need of the countries that have helped Ukraine to replenish their stocks, but also on the worsening of the security environment, meaning that “countries seek to procure more weapons”.

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