India-China trade growth in last quarter, trade contraction in many developed countries: Report
New Delhi| Developing countries, particularly India and China, expanded better-than-average trade in the October-December quarter of 2024, a report by the world body said. The report, however, warned of the possibility of a global economic slowdown in the coming quarters. According to this, while trade has expanded in developing countries, especially China and India, there has been trade contraction in many developed countries.
The latest global trade update by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) states that global trade reached $33,000 billion in 2024, expanding by about $1,200 billion, or nine percent. This update covers the figures up to the beginning of March. China and India saw strong trade momentum in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the U.S. remained a key driver, it said. Merchandise trade between major economies showed mixed trends in the fourth quarter of 2024. China, India’s trade, especially exports, continued to grow.
In the US, import growth recovered in the fourth quarter of 2024, while export growth declined. India reported 8% quarter-on-quarter import growth in merchandise trade and 6% on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of 2024. Quarterly exports were 7% and 2% export growth annually.
Services trade continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2024. This demonstrates that the positive trend in services trade may be stable for most economies. Growth in services trade remained strong for India and South Africa. Services trade growth reached double-digit figures for many of the largest developing economies on an annual basis.
