Four out of five businesses in the European Union faced disruptions or made changes to their global value chains between 2021 and 2023 as they grappled with the covid pandemic and the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
About 80% of all companies across the European Union were affected by at least one constraint or had to re-organise their international supply and production networks during this period, Eurostat reports.
The most common issues cited by companies included higher energy-related input costs, which affected 62% of respondents.
Limitations linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased costs for non-energy raw materials and goods each affected 56% of enterprises.
Policy-related factors also had a significant impact. About 27% of businesses reported that sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia had a moderate or high effect on their operations, while 38% pointed to challenges related to environmental policy compliance.
How businesses responded
In response to these pressures, companies took various measures to restructure their global value chains.
The most frequently reported adjustment was greater digitalisation of processes.
Other common responses included prioritising the most reliable suppliers (30%), sourcing new suppliers or buyers within the EU (29%), and expanding supplier networks (17%).
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