World trade in 2003 grew by 4.5 pc
Geneva: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has released the world trade figures, which shows a clear recovery and a growth in 2003 by 4.5 per cent. According to WTO, trade should expand by 7.5 per cent in 2004, as the world economy is likely to grow by 3.7 per cent. However, these estimates have are conditional to import growth in the US and demand recovery in Europe. Also, Asian countries saw the fastest growth in trade in 2003 with merchandise export and imports growing by 10-12 per cent. World merchandise exports rose 16 per cent to $7.3 trillion and commercial services exports by 12 per cent to $1.8 trillion in 2003. For both merchandise and services trade, this was the strongest annual increase in nominal terms since 1995.

Germany was the leading exporter, with its exports amounting to $748.4 billion, accounting for 10 per cent of global exports, followed by the US at $724 billion, accounting for 9.7 per cent in 2003. Japan with 6.3 per cent in global exports earned $471.9 billion last year and occupied the third position among the trade majors. India with its $55 billion exports last year did not figure in the top 30 exporters of the world. On the import front, the US has emerged as the leading importer in the world accounting for 16.8 per cent of total imports at $1,305.6 billion in 2003, followed by Germany at $601.7 billion and accounting for 7.7 per cent of the global imports. China has emerged as the third biggest importer in the world in 2003 as it accounted for 5.3 per cent of global imports at $412.8 billion. India figures in the world's top 30 importers as holding the 24th slot. The country imported $69.7 billion of goods in 2003, accounting for a share of 0.9 per cent in global imports.
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