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The
global demand for shipping
services could witness a
contraction on account of the
anticipated slow-down in world
trade as forecast by the World
Trade Organistaion.
WTO,
in its latest annual report said
merchandise trade expansion in
real terms in 2000 matched the
best annual rates observed over
the last five decades.
“However,
a deceleration of economic growth
began in the final quarter of
2000, clouding the trade prospects
for 2001,” it said in the report
released last week.
The
report said while all regions
reported faster nominal trade
growth, exports and imports of
developing countries expanded by
more than 20%, lifting their share
in world merchandise trade to the
highest level in the last 50
years.
Various
factors contributed to this
outcome, including the economic
recovery in Latin America and East
Asia, the sharp rise of oil prices
and stronger import demand in
developed countries.
The
report noted that Malaysia was
among the few countries which
recorded dynamic growth in the
trade last year. Malaysia and the
Philippines posted 10 per cent
growth in exports and imports
while China and Mexico recorded 15
per cent increase, according to
the WTO.
The
value of world merchandise trade
rose by 12.5 per cent in 2000 —
twice the average for the last
decade — to reach nearly US$6.2
trillion.
World
commercial services trade is
estimated to have expanded by 5
per cent (to US$1.4 trillion
dollars) in 2000, the fastest
annual growth since 1997.
“In
2001, the world economy is
retreating from the high growth
path seen last year, dimming the
prospects for world trade in 2001.
The volume of world merchandise
trade is expected to grow by 7 per
cent, a marked reduction from the
estimated 12 per cent in 2000,”
WTO said.
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