World exports log 27% growth in Q1: WTO

With significant increase in exports from China, Japan, India and other Asian countries, the global merchandise exports grew by a healthy 27 per cent in the first three months of the year.

"Global exports rose by 27 per cent (during January-March 2010)," the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said in its international trade statistics report.

India's exports during the period increased by a robust 33 per cent while that of Japan and China surged 48 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively.

"Fuelled by Asia's demand and commodity prices, exports of Africa, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States (ex-Soviet republics) were more than 50 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of 2009," WTO said.

Increased export and import (up 24 per cent) activities during the three months pushed up global trade by around 25 per cent over the same period last year, it added.

The world trade body further said available monthly statistics for about 70 economies, representing about 90 per cent of world trade, show that merchandise trade declined in January and February but rose sharply in March.

After the sharpest decline in more than 70 years, world trade is set to rebound in 2010 by growing at 9.5 per cent, according to WTO economists. In 2009, the global economic crisis sparked a 12.2 per cent contraction in the volume of global trade.