{
  "id": 6289512,
  "title": "Hormuz disruptions hitting small businesses hardest, UN trade agency warns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/hormuz-disruptions-hitting-small-businesses-hardest-un-trade-agency",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-08T14:07:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40438488/hormuz-disruptions-hitting-small-businesses-hardest-un-trade-agency-warns"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are disproportionately affecting small and medium-sized businesses, according to a warning from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The organization says these disruptions could lead to economic concentration and undermine the resilience of international trade. Rising energy costs, freight rates, insurance premiums, and financing constraints stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict are disproportionately burdening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) compared to larger firms. SMEs make up around 90% of global businesses, employ 70% of the workforce, and contribute 50% of world GDP, making their vulnerability significant. The UNCTAD report highlights the potential for ripple effects beyond the shipping lanes due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Markets have been unsettled for months by the conflict, which has caused major disruptions to shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. After a brief calm in August, fighting resumed in the Gulf, with Iran and the U.S. exchanging fire, causing global oil prices to surge back to levels not seen since July. Brent crude prices were more than 2% higher on Tuesday, trading above $99 a barrel. Additionally, Houthi attacks on southwestern Saudi Arabia could further deepen the economic impact by disrupting Middle East energy supplies beyond the blockaded Hormuz Strait. UNCTAD warns of an \"SME exclusion effect,\" where smaller companies may be forced to scale back production, delay investments, or exit value chains altogether, even if overall trade volumes recover. UNCTAD spokesperson Marcelo Risi explained that the risk extends beyond a mere slowdown in global trade, as smaller firms could be entirely pushed out of value chains even when trade begins to rebound. Recent shocks have already manifested in higher crude prices, reduced shipping volumes, and increased borrowing costs, impacting SMEs particularly hard, as they already face higher relative operating costs, such as electricity and import compliance, than larger corporations.",
  "summary": "GENEVA: Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push small and medium-sized businesses out of global supply chains, increasing economic concentration and weakening the resilience of international trade, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said on Tuesday. Rising energy bills, freight rates, insurance premiums and financing constraints sparked by the U.S-Iran war place heavier…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}