Global Trade Shrunk in First Half of 2015

The trade amounts of major economies around the world have dropped the most since the recent global financial crisis.

The Institute for International Trade (IIT) of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) released its trade trends report for Jan. to June 2015 on Aug. 31, and announced that the trade amounts of 67 countries across the world added up to US$14.9998 trillion in the first half of this year, showing an 11.9 percent decline compared to the same period of the previous year.

By country, the United States recorded a 5.2 percent decrease in exports and a 3.1 percent decrease in imports, as the country with the largest trade volume in the world. China posted a 1 percent increase in exports along with a 15.5 percent decline in imports, while Japan’s exports and imports fell by 8.1 and 21 percent, respectively. Among the 10 countries with the largest trade volumes, China was the only country that recorded positive export growth.

Korea ranked sixth in export volume during the period, a record high, although its exports decreased by 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Korea remained at ninth place for the second consecutive year when it comes to imports and the overall trade volume.