As shown by table 3, the war in Ukraine has produced a rise in global food prices. This increase comes after a period of growth related to the pandemic. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 159.3 points in March 2022, jumping 17.9 points (12.6 per cent) from February 2022 and reaching its highest value since the index’s creation in 1990. Specifically, between February and March 2022, the FAO Cereal Price Index and the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 24.9 points (17.1 per cent) and 46.9 points (23.2 per cent), respectively.¶{p. 256}

The freight transport and logistics sector is a critical component of the Mediterranean countries’ economies. With its strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the region has the potential to become a global logistics hub. However, the Mediterranean region is characterized by profound diversity. Despite their geographical proximity, the Mediterranean countries play different roles within the global economy. Socio-economic components combined with institutional arrangements make this area a heterogeneous, in some ways polarised, whole.

In addition, the logistics sector in the Mediterranean area also faces several challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, low level of technological investment, inefficient customs procedures and high logistics costs.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has exacerbated the weaknesses of the freight transport and logistics sector in the Mediterranean area, highlighting the fragmented approach in managing supply chains and the lack of ability to respond to crises and disruptions created by war and other catastrophic events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This is reflected in a «logistics gap» between the countries belonging to the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The northern shore countries, i.e. those belonging to the EU, can benefit from more sophisticated transport and logistics systems and more competitive logistics companies in comparison with their Southern shore counterparts. The Southern Mediterranean logistics sector is still underdeveloped. The local logistics companies are lacking capacity, technological innovation and know-how. The logistics companies operating in these countries are generally small firms that work in subcontracting for larger EU logistics service providers. These companies offer a limited range of services, which prevents their integration in international supply chains that European companies largely control.

The war has revealed the dependence in international trade of the southern Mediterranean countries not only on EU countries but also on Ukraine and Russia. The southern Mediterranean countries show many structural bottlenecks such as poor logistics infrastructure, lack of modernisation of their main ports, airports, rail and roads and lack of compliance of customs clearance to ¶{p. 257}international standards that increase the cost of logistics services. From this point of view, the war in Ukraine may further worsen the logistics position of the Mediterranean area.

Indeed, the conflict is disrupting maritime transport, which is the most important transport mode in the Mediterranean and the rise of fossil fuel prices is increasing shipping prices. The conflict is also affecting the China-Mediterranean route since there is a shift in goods transport from shipping to rail (1.5 million TEUs were transported in 2021 compared to 500,000 TEUs in the pre-Covid period). This shift could result in a threat to Mediterranean trade, leading to a further loss of competitiveness of ports in this area.

While it is difficult to predict how the war in Ukraine will unfold, it is clear that the conflict is changing the geopolitical equilibrium at global level. From the policy implication point of view, it is important for Mediterranean countries to develop an integration process with the EU countries in order to reinforce the level of preparedness and resilience of logistics systems to tackle future crises.

To this end, it is critical to remove tariff-related barriers and reinforce trade liberalisation between the two blocks in order to maximise the economic benefits of a Free Trade Area in the Euro-Mediterranean area.

Policy actions should address transport-related challenges created by the war. To overcome these challenges, Mediterranean countries should accelerate collaborative efforts and develop cooperative initiatives in transport and logistics projects. One tool for developing this cooperation is the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which seeks to promote cooperation between Mediterranean countries in the fields of transport, logistics and sustainable mobility. Another significant initiative for transport and logistics development in the region is the creation of the Eastern Mediterranean Transport Corridor (EMTC). The EMTC is a cooperation project between Mediterranean countries to develop a multimodal transport corridor that connects the Black Sea and Caspian Sea with the Mediterranean. The objective of the EMTC is to improve access to European markets and create new business opportunities for countries in the region.

The logistics and transport sector’s low level of development constitutes a strategic weakness for Southern Mediterranean ¶{p. 258}countries, which can expose them even more to disruptions in the supply of essential goods such as fertilisers and agricultural and food products. In relation to transport and logistics issues of agricultural and agrifood products, it should be considered that more than in other sectors, trade in such products is greatly affected by last-minute changes and pressing orders. In addition, agricultural and food products are typically perishable, which puts a strain on often inadequate logistics and supply chains in the Mediterranean region. Considering the enormous potential of the agricultural and agrifood sectors for the Mediterranean area, it is essential to improve the resilience of existing supply chains and invest in developing trading routes that are able to guarantee timely deliveries as well as conserve food quality. Again, fostering dialogue and cooperation between Mediterranean inter-governmental institutions is the precondition for implementing policies and investments within the region.

From the managerial point of view, the food supply chain provides an interesting example of the investment required to improve companies’ competitiveness through logistics. Thus, investments are needed to enhance transport infrastructure and vehicles, and adopt innovative technologies such as Blockchain. Blockchain technology has the potential to improve the transparency, security and efficiency of the freight transport and logistics sector in the Mediterranean region. By providing end-to-end visibility of the supply chain, automating payments and customs procedures, and improving access to trade finance, blockchain technology can help companies become more competitive in the global market. However, the adoption of blockchain technology also requires regulatory frameworks, industry-wide standards and interoperability solutions. Mediterranean companies should collaborate to seize the opportunities offered by blockchain technology.

Further opportunities for Mediterranean companies may come from the war in Ukraine. In fact, some companies are moving the production of certain products (textiles, automotive, etc.) to certain Mediterranean countries (e.g., Morocco and Turkey) in order to have their manufacturing activities closer to the EU. The objective is to cut transit times and avoid possible inter-oceanic disruption in supply chains. In this respect, the war may well be a further incentive for many companies to maintain their presence in the Mediterranean region. ¶{p. 259}

As in any other research, this study has a number of limitations. The first major limitation concerns the availability of data. Given that the conflict in Ukraine is unfortunately still ongoing, data on the impact of the conflict on the Mediterranean region are few and somewhat unreliable.

The available data might only shed light on macro-economic dynamic processes. In addition, the fragmentation of socio-economic and institutional set-ups prevents the creation of a common database to refer to. In the absence of such data, it is difficult to achieve an assessment of the efficiency of transport and logistics systems in the region. Hence, in order to design and implement effective policy initiatives, a timely analysis of the state of logistics and supply chains in the region would be a necessary requisite.

There is also the scarcity of empirical data coming from survey and/or case study analysis conducted at company level and concerning the management of freight transport and logistics.

Future research should develop such kind of investigations in order to complement the results of macro-economic analyses with evidence deriving from qualitative and quantitative surveys. This would have the advantage of providing clearer and more reliable picture of the evolution of the sector in the Mediterranean area.