WTO says 2005 trade growth slower than record pace of 2004
10 Nov '05
4 min read
Product groups with the weakest nominal growth in 2004 included agricultural products, textiles and clothing.
- Transportation services expanded by 23 percent to $500 billion, the fastest increase among all services categories. The expansion was boosted by rising transportation costs and a strong increase in the volume of merchandise trade.
- Oil exporting regions (the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and Africa) increased their merchandise exports much faster than the global average. North America and Europe are the two regions whose merchandise export and import growth remained below the global average growth in 2004.
- The merchandise exports of least-developed countries (LDCs) are estimated to have increased by one third to $62 billion in 2004. Higher commodity prices and an increase in the volume of crude oil contributed to this strong performance. Non-oil exporting LDCs recorded lower than average export growth for the group.
- The emergence of China as a major import and export market for goods and services continued unabated in 2004. The share of China in the exports and imports of many countries has doubled between 2000 and 2004. By 2004, China had become the world's third largest merchandise trader.
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