Global trade may reach the $28 trillion mark this year, reveals a new report from the United Nations Confederation, Unctad, released yesterday.

The figure is 23% higher than last year and 11% higher than the figures for 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this year's positive result, Unctad reveals that the scenario for 2022 remains quite uncertain.

The entity evaluates both the flow of trade in goods and services and states that the growth between countries was uneven. Trade in Taiwan showed the highest increase, at 23%; followed by China, Vietnam, and Brazil, which had growth of 11%.

In the other corner are the United Kingdom, Japan, and Mexico, which had drops in the flow of trade in goods and services of -23%, -9%, and -8%, respectively.

Global trade in goods had a new record in the third quarter of 2021, reaching $5.6 trillion. Trade in services, on the other hand, moved 1.5 trillion dollars in the period.

The report also assesses the imports and exports of the world's largest economies. In the third quarter of this year, Brazil recorded 20% in the volume of imports of goods and 33% in the volume of exports, compared to pre-pandemic figures in 2019.

In the same period, exports of services rose by 2%, while imports of services into Brazil fell by 25%. Also in the third quarter of 2021, the value of trade in energy sector products was the one that grew the most, due to high demand and the increase in the price of fossil fuels.

On the other hand, trade growth in the communication and office equipment sector was relatively low, as was the increase in trade in textiles and apparel items.

Unctad explains that this year's positive trends were due to a strong recovery generated by the easing of pandemic-related restrictions, economic stimulus packages, and rising commodity prices.

Source UN News