WORLD TRADE

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WORLD TRADE

According to figures released by the World Trade Organization, between 2002 and 2011, global trade grew by 177 percent, from $ 13.2 trillion to $ 36.5 trillion. In the same period, world exports showed a growth potential of 181 percent. The global financial crisis that first surfaced in the United States in 2008 and spread to Europe has slowed this growth, and 2011 was a year in which global trade volume reached over 2008, and trade volume reached $ 36.5 trillion.

When global trade caught up with high growth, the quality of export products has undoubtedly changed. According to WTO data, iron and steel, pharmaceutical products, telecommunications equipment and fuel and mining products are experiencing high growth rates, while textile and apparel products, which are as old as historical global commerce, remain at lower growth rates.

The rising trends in global trade, in line with the change in the form of the global economy, reveal new trade centers. Developments in the 2000s have enabled South-South axis trade in global trade, as well as some of the emerging countries to take the place of developed Western economies in global trade. As a matter of fact, China, which ranked fifth in world exports in 2002, became the world’s most exporting country when it came in 2011.

The trade in Asia has now reached a volume that can be compared to the trade in Europe. The developments experienced in 2011 also confirm this change. While exports increased by 4.7 percent in developed countries in 2011, exports by Asia grew by 6.6 percent, while exports by Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan grew by 6.0 percent.

By the year 2011, the increase in Middle East exports is by 5.4 percent, Central and South America exports by 5.3 percent, EU exports by 5.2 percent and CIS exports by 1.8 percent. Africa’s exports decreased by 8.3 percent.

As of 2011, there was a 7.9 percent increase in the imports of developed countries, 2.8 percent in imports of developing countries (including CIS). Among the regions, with 16.7 percent, Asia has came to the forefront.

In the same period, import growth was 10.4 percent in Central and South America, 5.3 percent in the Middle East, 5.0 percent in Africa, 4.7 percent in North America, 2.0 percent in New Industrialized Economies like Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan and 2.0 percent in the EU.

World merchandise exports increased by 19.4 percent in value in 2011 to $ 18.2 trillion. The main reason for the increase in 2011 was the increase in prices of basic raw materials.

As of 2011, Europe has a share of 37% in the world goods exports. Asia’s share is 31 percent. In this period, Europe’s share in world goods imports was 38 percent while Asia’s share was 31 percent.

Value chains can be reorganized between suppliers in different countries and regions depending on the low input costs of the product, especially in the labor-based manufacturing process, and the production activities can be shifted from one supplier to another according to the decision of the leading companies. This situation can pose a risk for the country’s exports.

According to WTO data, global trade growth, which was 13.8 percent in 2010, was 5 percent in 2011. On the other hand, exports of services increased by 11 percent in 2011 to $ 4.1 trillion. In 2011, the share of services trade in total goods and services trade declined to 18.6 percent, the lowest level since 1990.

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