Geneva, Mar. 23, (dpa/GNA) - An analysis by the United Nations found that world trade hit record levels in 2022, despite trade growth turning negative during the final quarter.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) forecast trade volumes to stagnate during the first half of 2023, according to the report released by the organization on Thursday.
Total global trade volume in 2022 hit $32 trillion, UNCTAD estimated. Trade in goods rose about 10% compared to 2021, hitting an estimated value of $25 trillion. Global trade in services rose even more sharply, growing 15% compared to 2021 to hit $7 trillion, UNCTAD estimated.
Factors helping drive trade growth, according to UNCTAD, include that logistics problems at ports have largely been solved, global shipping capacities have increased and freight costs, which spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, have now fallen to pre-pandemic levels.
However, inflation, rising interest rates and high prices for energy, food and metals, among other factors, dampened the outlook, UNCTAD said.
Russian exports saw the biggest drop among major countries in the final quarter of 2022, according to the report.
The Russian economy was hit with major sanctions following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The invasion also created instability in global food and energy markets.
The report cited “geopolitical tensions, including the Russian Federation’s conflict with Ukraine” as the “biggest risks” facing global trade in 2023.
But the UNCTAD cited growth in “green” products as a bright spot. Trade in such goods rose 4% in the second half of 2022 to $1.9 trillion, according to the report.
“Green” products refers to goods that are intended to use fewer resources or cause less pollution than conventional products for a similar purpose, including cars with electric or hybrid engines (up 25%), packaging without plastic (up 20%) and wind turbines (up 10%).
UNCTAD was founded in Geneva in 1964 and is focused in particular on the interests of low- and middle-income countries in the UN. The organization has 195 member countries.
GNA