(3 minutes read)
· International trade is set to grow at 8% in 2021, according to the World Trade Organization’s Managing Director Dr
· Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. In 2020, the global trade contracted by 5.3% in 2020, less than expected, when the ill effects of the pandemic started unfolding
· There was a sharp decline in the first half of the year 2020
· However, the global trade recovered quickly than expected in the second half of 2020
International trade is set to grow at 8% in 2021, according to the World Trade Organization’s Managing Director Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. In 2020, the global trade contracted by 5.3% in 2020, less than expected, when the ill effects of the pandemic started unfolding.
There was a sharp decline in the first half of the year 2020. However, the global trade recovered more quickly than expected in the second half of 2020. Riding on the back of that trend, WTO’s forecasts an 8% increase in the volume of the global merchandise trade for 2021, says Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
The WTO CEO bases her observations on the pickup of the global trade on the recent blockade at the Suez Canal, where it was estimated every day a total loss of US$ 9 billion was incurred by ships awaiting their turn to use the waterways. It was reported that over 300 ships with varying haulage capacities were stranded at the blockade. It is estimated that between 10 percent and 15 percent of the global trade passes through the Suez Canal on an average per annum.
A year ago, the WTO cautioned that global trade could plummet by a third in 2020 due to the pandemic. Later, it had revised the estimate to an expected 9.2-percent drop. However, while trade for this year (2021) will be stronger than expected, growth is forecast to slow to 4% in 2022, cautions the world trade body.
