WELLINGTON: Fears of a downturn in the volume growth of world trade in 2015 appear to have been realised.
The World Trade Organisation says the growth in both exports and imports in merchandise trade during the first quarter of 2015 was slower than over the previous six months.
According to preliminary estimates issued by the WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), world trade as measured by the average of exports and imports grew 0.7% in the first three months of 2015 based on seasonally adjusted data.
World exports increased by 0.4% in the first quarter of this year, down from the 2.1% growth registered in the previous quarter.
Imports grew by 0.9% in the same period, down from 1.5% in the previous quarter.
Exports from developing and emerging economies rose 1.5% in the first quarter, with all regions except Asia registering growth of 3% or greater.
In contrast, exports from developed countries fell by 0.5% in the same period, with US exports decelerating by 4.5%.
Developing and emerging economies increased their imports by 0.6% in the first quarter, with South and Central America and the Caribbean registering strong import growth at 6.8%.
Developed economies increased their imports by 1.3%, led by stronger import growth in Europe and North America.
WTO director-general Roberto Azevêdo warned earlier this month that a deceleration in the removal of trade barriers was slowing the rise in merchandise shipments.
New Zealand’s merchandise imports and exports both fell in May compared with May 2014 – exports by 4.7% to $4.4 billion and imports by 7.0% to $4.0 billion. Goods make up about 75% of the value of both imports and exports.
