World trade in 1994 can be characterized as follows: (1) considerable growth (a 13.3 percent increase over the previous year) on a nominal basis; (2) remarkable growth in trade by industrialized countries due to economic recovery; (3) continuing growth in trade by developing countries, most notably by those in East Asia (a total of nine countries/regions consisting of: four Asian NIEs--the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore; four ASEAN countries--Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines; and China), where trade has been expanding steadily over the past few years; and (4) a rapid rise in the price of primary products, except for petroleum, which had the effect of enhancing world trade.
(1) World trade in 1994 (imports, IMF) recorded the highest growth rate (a 13.3 percent increase on a nominal basis from 1993) since 1990 (a 14.0 percent increase on a nominal basis over the previous year) and totaled US$4,226.1 billion on a value basis, reaching a US$4 trillion total for the first time (Table-1). It also showed considerable growth on a real basis, leaping from 3.8 percent growth for 1993 to 9.4 percent in 1994 (Table-3).
(2) In terms of the value of imports by country/region, the EU recorded an increase of US$1,609.9 billion (or 12.9 percent over the previous year), the U.S.A. showed an increase of US$689.2 billion (or 14.2 percent), and Japan showed an increase of US$275.2 billion (or 13.9 percent). Major reasons which contributed to the remarkable growth of world trade in 1994 are the continuing economic prosperity in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and signs of a business upturn in some countries in mainland Europe, such as Germany and France, where economic recovery had been relatively slow (Table-4). Such a business upturn generated the expanding demand in the U.S.A. (a 4.7 percent increase in real domestic demand from the previous year) and the EU (a 1.4 percent increase). Also Japan's growing demand for imports thanks to the appreciation of the yen contributed to a marked growth in world imports. In terms of increase in world imports by country/region in 1994 (on a nominal basis), the EU was up by 4.9 percent, the U.S.A. by 2.3 percent, and Japan by 0.9 percent. On the other hand, in terms of the contribution to the increase in world exports (on a nominal basis), the EU improved by 4.7 percent, the U.S.A. by 1.3 percent, and Japan by 0.9 percent (Table-2).
(3) Concurrently, trade by developing countries in 1994 showed noticeable growth from the previous year as well, with increases of 16.8 percent in exports and 14.0 percent (or US$1,337.9 billion) in imports. The growth was even greater in East Asia, with a 19.0 percent increase in exports and a 17.6 percent (or US$736.7 billion) increase in imports. In terms of increased world trade, East Asia improved by 3.0 percent for both exports and imports.
(4) A rise in the price of primary products, except for petroleum, (an average of 12.4 percent for all products excluding energy) also contributed to growth in nominal world trade (Table-5). This has positive effect in increasing imports by developing countries on the nominal basis. Looking at individual products, prices of most primary products rose from the previous year: coffee by 210 percent, palm oil by 40.1 percent, cotton by 32.0 percent, aluminum by 29.4 percent, wool by 25.0 percent, and copper by 20.4 percent. It appears that active trade in capital goods (which consist of machinery and parts except home electrical appliances and passenger vehicles, such as computers and computer parts, semiconductors and communication equipment) in industrialized countries and East Asia also made a considerable contribution to the expansion of world trade (based on a WTO projection).