World trade may have grown fastest in 2010

NEW DELHI: World trade is expected to grow by more than 13.5% in 2010, the fastest ever in global commerce, according to revised projections made by economists of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"This would be the fastest year-on-year expansion of trade ever recorded in a data series going back to 1950," the WTO noted.

The high growth figure, while reflecting higher industrial activities worldwide, is also a result of the severely-depressed level of trade in 2009, when world exports plunged by 12.2%, a WTO release said. The next fastest year-on-year growth was 11.8% in 1976, one year after the then unprecedented decline of 7.3% in 1975.

Exports from developed economies is expected to expand by 11.5% in volume terms whi]]le exports from developing economies and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is expected to see an increase of 16.5%.

WTO economists had predicted a world trade growth of 10% in March 2010, but have now revised it upwards following "faster than expected" recovery in global trade flows so far in 2010.