Wto: Modest Global Trade Recovery To Continue İn 2015 And 2016

Growth in the volume of world merchandise trade will pick up only slightly over the next two years, rising from 2.8 percent in 2014 to 3.3 percent in 2015 and eventually to 4.0 percent in 2016, World Trade Organisation (WTO) said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Trade expansion will therefore remain well below the annual average of 5.1 percent posted since 1990" it said. The modest gains in 2014, marked the third consecutive year in which trade grew less than 3 percent. Trade growth averaged just 2.4 percent between 2012 and 2014, the slowest rate on record for a three year period when trade was expanding.

"By withdrawing protectionist measures, improving market access, avoiding policies which distort competition and striving to agree reforms to global trade rules, governments can boost trade and seize the opportunities that it offers for everyone" Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in the statement and added:

"Trade growth has been disappointing in recent years, due largely to prolonged sluggish growth in GDP following the financial crisis. Looking forward we expect trade to continue its slow recovery but with economic growth still fragile and continued geopolitical tensions, this trend could easily be undermined."

In the short-term at least, trade expansion would no longer far outstrip overall economic growth as had been the general pattern for decades. The 2.8 percent rise in world trade in 2014 barely exceeded the increase in world GDP for the year, and forecasts for trade growth in 2015 and 2016 only surpass expected output growth by a small margin

(GRAPH) - Istanbul