WTO Offers Optimistic Forecast for World Trade Recovery

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Prospects for a quick recovery in world trade have improved as merchandise trade expanded more rapidly than expected in the second half of last year. According to new estimates from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to increase by 8 percent this year after having fallen more than 5 percent in 2020. Trade growth will likely slow to 4 percent in 2022, with the total volume of global trade remaining below the pre-pandemic trend. Overall, trade in agricultural products has increased but the value of fuels and mining products trade was still down 19 percent in the fourth quarter. The value of merchandise trade overall was up slightly compared to the previous year (2 percent), but this increase might be exaggerated due to the fact that world trade was already slowing in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)