How food kept UN procurement at record levels — and who benefited

In 2021, the United Nations spent a record amount on procurement — and by a huge amount. Spending was up almost a third on the year before. In 2022, procurement remained at those elevated levels, but for completely different reasons. Spending rises in 2021 were driven by health-related procurements due to the COVID-19 response. In 2022, the spending on health dropped, but this was compensated for by a massive rise in spending on food, as well as big jumps in the cost of energy and travel. Despite a big fall in spending, health remains the sector where U.N. agencies spent the most in 2022, with total procurement worth $7.6 billion. This represented a drop of 28.9%, but health spending still remains above pre-pandemic levels. Food and farming, on the other hand, rose up the rankings to become the second-largest sector in 2022, with a total spend of $4.2 billion — a 43.4% increase. The World Food Programme was the main agency responsible for the increase in procurement in this sector, with 16,451 contracts procured. Spending at the WFP rose by $1.2 billion, mainly due to emergencies in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Devex looked into the data to see who were the top suppliers and the top procuring organizations in 2022. Procurement by UN agencies UNICEF remains the top spending agency, with $7.4 billion of procurement in 2022 — an increase of 2.8% from last year. It remains the top procurer of medical equipment and supplies. However, the increase in their funding can be attributed to two sectors — transportation, storage, and mail services; and travel, food, and lodging. The second biggest spender was WFP, with $6 billion — a 22.5% increase from 2022. ICAO — the International Civil Aviation Organization — increased its spending the most in percentage terms, with a 74.7% increase, due to a much higher volume of projects related to aircraft and airport facilities. The Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, saw the next largest increase. Its spending increased by 60.5%, driven mainly by the higher demand for fertilizers, seeds, and animal feed to respond to the crises in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Yemen. The United Nations Office for Project Services, or UNOPS, saw the biggest decrease in spending, with a 54.3% drop. The agency had a sudden rise in spending last year, which can be attributed to a single $2.2 billion health-related contract in Mexico. No other similar contracts were made this year, and the decrease returned its spending to historic levels. The next largest decrease in spending was at the International Labour Organization, or ILO, which had a 34.9% decrease due to a fall in building and maintenance services-related contracts. Major countries of supply The United States remains the top supplier for the U.N., with a total of $2.4 billion procured in both goods and services in 2022, up 1.3% compared to 2021. Belgium rises to second place, from seventh in 2021, with a huge increase of 77%. The overall total of the procured goods and services amounts to $1.7 billion. This was mostly down to purchases by UNICEF of pharmaceuticals, contraceptives, and vaccines. The United Kingdom follows, with $1.3 billion — an almost 80% increase. This is also mainly because of pharmaceuticals, contraceptives, and vaccines. Afghanistan, the only country in the group of Least Developed Countries, or LDCs, in the top supplier list, garnered a 113.1% increase with a total of $747.8 million. This was due to the fact that they were the main suppliers of live plant and animal material, mostly procured by WFP. This accounted for 14% of total procurement from other LDCs. Procurement from LDCs Procurement from LDCs increased by 19% compared to 2021. The total amount of goods and services procured reached $5.4 billion. As previously mentioned, Afghanistan is the top LDC supplier with a total of $747.8 million, primarily focusing on the supply of live plant and animal material. Yemen comes in second, with a $699.4 million total despite a decrease of 2.9%. Financial and insurance services were the top categories supplied by the country. Ethiopia follows with a rise of 22.7% with a total of $494.6 million. Procurement related to transportation, storage, and mail services was the largest factor in the increase. The Democratic Republic of Congo saw a 58.9% increase in 2022, with a total of $304.9 million. The increase was brought about by building and maintenance contracts from the United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP. The biggest contracts Contracts listed in this section have been acquired via the U.N. ASR portal. The focus of this section will be on the top contracts of the top five procuring agencies in the U.N. system. The biggest contract in 2022 totalled $114.6 million and was awarded to Scan Global Logistics by UNICEF in the transportation, storage, and mail service category. The top contract procured by WFP amounted to $39.2 million for food and beverage products, which was awarded to Ismail Industries Limited from Pakistan. The United Nations Secretariat awarded $50.3 million for food and beverage products to Agility DGS Logistics Services Co. from Kuwait UNDP awarded $53.5 million for building and maintenance services to Safricas Congo SA from the Democratic Republic of Congo. UNOPS gave a $29.2 million contract for transport, storage, mail services to Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise. The World Health Organization procured a $34.9 million contract for building and maintenance services awarded to Implenia from Switzerland FAO, the agency which saw the highest increase in procurement, awarded $18.2 million for live plant and animal material to Liven Nutrients PTE LTD from Singapore. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.