World trade to fall by 9.2% in 2020, says WTO

Port in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on April 11, 2020. -Photo/Xinhua

GENEVA (Oct 7, Xinhua): World merchandise trade is expected to fall by 9.2 percent in 2020, followed by a 7.2-percent rise in 2021, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Tuesday in its revised trade forecast.

In April, the WTO had predicted a decline in the volume of world merchandise trade for 2020 between 13 percent and 32 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal economic activity and life around the world.