Global trade jumps 10% in 1Q21

According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, global trade hit a record high in the first quarter of 2021, growing 10 percent on the first quarter of last year as economies continue to recover from the pandemic, Report informs.

Strong exports from East Asian economies drove the UN agency's growth in its Global Trade Update report.

"The positive trends from the last few months of 2020 grew stronger in early 2021," Unctad said, "Importantly, global trade in [the] first-quarter of 2021 was higher than pre-crisis levels, with an increase of about 3 percent relative to first-quarter of 2019."

In this regard, COVID-19-related products such as medical masks, ventilators, disinfectants, and vaccines have maintained their dominance in global trade.

During the reporting period, trade in most of the world's major economies was lower than in the same period last year, with only China, India, and South Africa increasing.