The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday that global trade is primed for a strong but uneven recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic shock, forecasting an increase in the volume of world merchandise trade of 8 percent this year.

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The global trade body said prospects for a quick recovery in trade have improved as merchandise trade expanded more rapidly than expected in the second half of last year.
"World merchandise trade volume is expected to increase by 8 percent in 2021 after falling 5.3 percent in 2020, a smaller decline than previously estimated," the WTO said in a press release, Xinhua reported.

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The WTO figures showed that China was the world's top exporter last year, accounting for 14.7 percent of world merchandise trade, and the second-largest importer behind the US with a share of 11.5 percent. "Trade growth should then slow to 4 percent in 2022, and the effects of a pandemic will continue to be felt as this pace of expansion would still leave trade below its pre-pandemic trend," it noted. (IANS/SP)