The Asia Pacific region (APEC), which includes the United States, China, Chile, Peru and 17 other countries, registered a growth of Double-digit volume and value of trade between January and September 2021, according to a recent report by the APEC Policy Support Unit.
The area, which represents half of world trade, recorded higher costumes of exports and imports of goods in a 14% and an 16% respectively compared to the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, value of merchandise trade increased by 28,2% for exports or with a 27,3% for imports, driven by higher costs for fuel and manufactured goods.
The APEC update highlighted the combined effect of both a pickup in economic activity, marked by rising demand, as well as a low base, as trade contracted in recent years.
The report also revealed that supply shocks led to higher Shipping and storage costs, which influenced the prices of exports and imports.
He also noted that trade expanded across a wide range of manufactured goods, including iron and steel, chemicals, machinery, apparel and footwear, while trade in COVID-19-related products, such as pharmaceuticals and telecommunications equipment, has remained robust.
In this regard, the Director of APEC Policy Support Unit, Dr. Denis Hew, said member economies must remain united in their response and priorities to sustain the recovery.
“In the immediate period, we must ensure that people are healthy so that economies can recover, reopen and rebuild,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
He added that the free and rapid flow of medical supplies across borders would also expand vaccination coverage, which members agreed on early last year.
As to trade in services, the update signals a rebound in APEC trade services from a 11,1% for exports and 9,2% for imports in the first three quarters of 2021.
Rising shipping rates boosted the performance of transportation services, which grew 26,8%, while strong consumer demand drove goods-related services to grow 10,7% from Q2021 to QXNUMX XNUMX.
La APEC Policy Support Unit Researcher Rhea C. Hernando, said the travel sector remained a drag on services trade as the recovery of travel and tourism was largely dependent on the full reopening of borders around the world. “Travel services last year are still around 30 percent below the 2019 level despite efforts by authorities to develop several travel corridors,” he noted.
He stressed that “this highlights the importance of APEC’s commitment to advancing work to safely reopen borders and reconnect the region.”
In this way, one of the Thailand's priorities as APEC 2022 chair is to address the pressing issue of disrupted connectivity by resuming safe and seamless cross-border travel, revitalizing the tourism and services sector, facilitating business mobility, and increasing investment in health security.
Hew also said member economies were ready to implement the individual and collective actions set out in the Aotearoa Action Plan to achieve the new vision of an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific.
"While the implementation of the strategies outlined in the action plan depends on the domestic conditions and resources of economies, the key is to act now by implementing what is relevant, feasible and appropriate," he concluded.APEC Report)
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