World trade volume registers 6% growth say WTO economists
11 Apr '06
5 min read
Europe's trade performance was sluggish in 2005, in line with its overall economic performance. Export and import growth were weaker than in all other regions in terms of both goods and services.
The rise in North America's merchandise and services exports remained slightly below the global expansion rate.
Merchandise trade by sector
Trade developments by sector showed a large variation, mostly due to relative price developments. Weak and stagnating prices for food, agricultural raw materials and manufactured goods contrasted with a further sharp rise in metals and fuels prices.
Consequently, the share of fuels and other mining products in world merchandise trade rose to 16%, the highest level since 1985. On the other hand, the share of agricultural products in world merchandise exports decreased to a historic record low of less than 9%.
Within the manufacturing sector, the largest export value increases were observed for iron and steel products and for chemicals.
Although global demand recovered somewhat for computers and other electronic products, the trade value of these categories expanded no faster than that of manufactured goods in general.
In other words, electronic products have not regained the dynamic role they played in the expansion of trade in manufactures throughout the 1990s.
In the 1990s, the export value of electronic goods rose on averageby 12% or twice as fast as all other manufactured goods. Available information in early 2006 points to a below average expansion of global trade in textiles and clothing in 2005.
Services
Among the broad commercial services categories (transportation, travel and other commercial services) expansion rates were rather similar in 2005, ranging from nearly 10% for travel to 12% for transportation services.
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