Iron and steel lead dynamism in world trade
Iron and steel led the dynamism of world trade in manufactured goods in the third quarter of 2021, reported the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Overall and at a year-on-year rate, the volume of world merchandise trade fell 0.8% in the third quarter of 2021,
In terms of its measurement in value, world trade increased 24% year-on-year in the third quarter.
Iron and Steel
In its report released Monday, the WTO included an indicator showing the growth of merchandise trade over two years for selected individual economies up to the last available month.
Thus, growth rates reflect a wide range of results compared to the pre-pandemic period, with some countries (South Africa, China) recording higher export earnings, while others have experienced more modest increases (United States, Mexico) or declines (Colombia, Namibia).
In relation to sectors, some showed strong increases in the third quarter, including iron and steel (73%), electronic components (26%), pharmaceuticals (22%) and other chemical products (31%).
Others showed stagnation or decline, including automotive products (0%), telecommunications equipment (5%), apparel (5%) and textiles (-7 percent).
Year-on-year growth of manufactures, 2021Q1-2021Q3
The weakness in automotive products and telecommunications equipment reflects the recent shortage of semiconductors, which closed assembly lines for products that use these inputs intensively.
Also, the textiles category includes surgical masks, which emerged earlier in the pandemic. The higher baseline for these products may explain their decline in the third quarter.
Changes in merchandise trade values mainly reflect manufacturing, as this category accounts for most of the total, 71% in 2020.
By comparison, agricultural products account for 10%, fuels and mining products for 13%, and unspecified products account for the remaining 6.
Trade flows of manufactures and agricultural products increased by a similar amount in the third quarter, 21 and 18%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Trade in fuels and mining products increased 71% during the same period, driven by a four-fold increase in natural gas prices.
