Pandemic-hit global merchandise trade could plunge 20% this year – U.N.
The international trade in goods is expected to nosedive by 20% this year after a 5% drop year-on-year in the first-quarter and what could be a 27% plunge in the second-quarter, says the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
UNCTAD’s forecast is in line with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) expectation that the decline in international trade this year will be between 13 and 32%.
“International trade is likely to remain below the levels observed in 2019,” said UNCTAD director of international trade Pamela Coke-Hamilton in a statement on Thursday (June 11). “But how far depends on the pandemic’s evolution and the type and extent of the policies governments adopt as they try to restart their economies.”
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