Business Desk :
The share of LDCs in global exports declined from 0.95 percent to 0.91 percent in the last one decade – from 2011 to 2020, a disappointing result compared to the WTO’s target to double LDCs’ share in global exports over the same period.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the subdued trade performance registered by LDCs in the latter half of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (IPoA) adopted in May 2011. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) disclosed this in a report titled “Boosting trade opportunities for least-developed countries”, which was released on Wednesday. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe trade impact on LDCs. The report found that in the second quarter of 2020, when many lockdown measures began or were already in force, LDC merchandise exports declined 30 percent year-on-year, compared to a 21 percent drop in merchandise exports at the world level.
“Overall, in 2020, LDC merchandise exports shrank by nearly 12 percent in value terms, compared to the more than 7 percent contraction for the world as a whole,” says the report. Exports of primary commodities, such as fuel and mining products, have been hit hard with a drop of 41 percent. Manufacturing plants shut down due to Covid-19 restrictions, and spending dropped due to stay-at-home orders; these effects translated into low demand for primary commodities from LDCs, according to the WTO. The LDC exports of commercial services also declined more sharply than the global average, at 35 percent compared to 21 percent, reflecting the disproportionate share of tourism and travel to LDCs. As a result, the WTO said further support will be needed from the international community in the next decade to strengthen LDCs’ participation in world trade. While LDCs have benefited over the past 10 years from greater market access opportunities, flexibility in implementing WTO rules and trade-related technical assistance, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to even greater challenges for these countries, hitting their exports hard. “Increasing LDC participation in global trade is a shared objective of the international community. The WTO offers LDCs a unique opportunity to help shape global trade rules that respond to their trade interests. This report has illustrated the tangible benefits that LDCs working closely with WTO members have achieved over the past ten years.
