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The growth in the global merchandise trade is likely to decline by 1.2 per cent, in value terms, due to the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Thursday. The US dollar value of world merchandise trade fell 5 per cent in 2023 to USD 24.01 trillion, but this decline was mostly offset by a strong increase in commercial services trade, which rose 9 per cent to USD 7.54 trillion, it said. This allowed world goods and commercial services exports on a balance of payments basis to slip 2 per cent in 2023 to USD 30.8 trillion. "Despite the World Trade Organization (WTO) expecting a 2.6 per cent rise in trade volume for 2024, the value of world merchandise trade is still seen to decline by 1.2 per cent in 2024 from 2023, continuing the trend of trade values falling behind the trade volumes," the think tank said. The WTO has projected that the world merchandise trade volume will grow by 2.6 per cent in 2024 and 3.3 per cent i
The Export Import (Exim) Bank India on Monday said the country's merchandise exports are set to fall to USD 111.7 billion for the April-June period amid continuing global volatilities. The country had reported overall merchandise exports at USD 116.7 billion in the year-ago period, as per official data. India's exports could be shadowed by a continued slowdown in select major trade partners including advanced economies, global financial sector stress, high inflationary pressures leading to tighter global monetary and financial conditions, and continued uncertainty around the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Exim Bank said. The bank said the non-oil exports are forecast to amount to USD 86.6 billion in the first quarter of the new fiscal year. It said exports have displayed resilience amidst a challenging global economic situation, plagued by supply chain disruptions and geo-political tensions, and have consistently remained above USD 100 billion for seven consecutive quarters since Q2
The country's merchandise exports are likely to cross USD 500 billion this fiscal due to healthy demand for domestic goods in key global markets, including the US, and benefits from trade pacts, according to exporters. They said that other destinations like Russia would give a huge boost to the country's outbound shipments, particularly in the agri and food processing sectors. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said they are targeting to take the shipments to USD 500 billion-510 billion during the current financial year. Services exports are likely to reach around USD 390 billion in 2023-24 from USD 322.72 billion in 2022-23. "Together with goods and services, we are targeting exports of USD 900 billion this fiscal," FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said. He noted that free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia would provide a huge platform to boost exports in those markets. "Production-linked incentive scheme too will provide an impetus to our exports as dome