Global trade flows
International trade continues to grow strongly
Underpinned by increased off-shoring of production and the global sourcing of goods and services, trade volumes are expanding more than twice as fast as industrial production. Here a shift in the pattern of growth is becoming visible:
- Import demand is moving away from high-income countries towards emerging markets. Import growth in these markets came to around 12.5%, compared to only 6.8% in the high-income countries.
- On the export side, growth in developing countries and emerging markets has been twice as fast as in high-income countries since 2000 (10.8% versus 5.1% a year on average). Intra-Asian trade flows have already become the largest trade lane in the global arena and continue to grow at an outstanding 10.8% (CAGR 2006 – 2009). In second place comes trade between Asia Pacific and Europe, which is growing by 10.1% per year.
International trade flows and their growth rates (foreign trade volumes > €100 billion)
