The UN Conference on Trade and Development said international trade is set to shrink by 27 percent in Q2 and by 20 percent for 2020, as major sectors collapse from the effects the pandemic.
UNCTAD forecast indicates a decline for the year 2020 of around 20 percent. While trade in agri-food products has been stable, UNCTAD said trade in the automotive and energy sector collapsed.
In developing countries, trade in April appears to have taken a “nosedive”. While exports shrank by 18 percent, imports in April into developing countries fell by 19 percent.
With exports improving by 3 percent in April, China appeared to have “fared better” than other major economies. However, the recovery may be short-lived as imports and exports in May plunged by 8 percent.
