Global trade in goods and services grew 10% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year

The latest report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that global trade has recovered strongly in the first quarter of this year, with trade volume not only significantly higher than the same period last year, but also higher than the same period in 2019. Experts analyzed that thanks to the stimulus policies of major economies and strong demand for anti-epidemic related products, global trade will continue to recover steadily. In particular, China's import and export trade has shown resilience during the epidemic prevention and control period, becoming an important engine for promoting the stable development of global trade.

The latest issue of the Global Trade Update released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that in the first quarter of this year, global trade in goods and services increased by 4% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year, with strong growth in trade in goods and services, while trade in services remained below pre-pandemic levels. The report predicts that global trade will reach $6.6 trillion in the second quarter, 31% higher than last year's low, and global trade will grow by 16% year-on-year for the whole year. Experts believe that global trade will continue to grow steadily this year, but faces some uncertainties.

Alessandro Nichita, an economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development who participated in the drafting of the report, said that global trade basically reached pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of last year, and global trade in the first quarter of this year increased by 3% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.

Specifically, trade among major economies around the world began to recover in the fall of 2020. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the trade volume base was low last year, and although global trade recovered quickly, the trade volume of some major economies was still lower than the level in 2019. China, India, and South Africa performed relatively better than other major economies in the first quarter of 2021.

From a regional perspective, most economies have seen an increase in trade imports, but exports are mainly driven by East Asia, highlighting the important role of East Asia in global trade. The growth rate of trade in developing countries exceeds that of developed countries, especially South-South trade. In the first quarter of this year, the imports and exports of developing countries increased by 18% and 22% year-on-year, respectively, while the imports and exports of developed countries increased by 12% and 7% year-on-year. South-South trade increased by 20% year-on-year, an increase of 17% over the first quarter of 2019.

From the perspective of product categories, the demand for mineral products, office equipment, and communication equipment continued to rebound, with year-on-year growth of 42%, 38%, and 37% in the first quarter, respectively. The trade volume of these products also increased significantly compared with the first quarter of 2019. In addition, the trade of machinery and equipment, clothing, and medical products also grew rapidly.

In many countries, due to the implementation of home isolation policies, employees work from home and students take classes remotely, and sales of electronic products such as laptops are booming. In Europe, public transportation is restricted, demand for short-distance travel has increased, and bicycle sales have doubled.