Kuwait tops globally in export performance in 2021

This news has been read 11447 times!

‘Least vulnerable to fluctuations, negative influences’

KUWAIT CITY, March 6: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) states that Kuwait is the best country in the world in terms of export performance, and that it was least vulnerable to fluctuations and negative influences that impede this performance in the fourth quarter of 2021, reports Al-Rai daily. Kuwait’s balance on the export performance index was 1.00 points, which is a strong number that reflects the good performance of the country’s exports.

The export performance is a composite indicator of the growth rates, the performance of a country compared to its peers, and the competitiveness of the country in major and dynamic markets. The higher the balance, the better the performance of exports. The Export Volatility Index tracks the performance of exports over the last six months to identify patterns of volatility. A higher balance indicates weaker exports.

Fluctuations
The level of export fluctuations in 2021 in Kuwait was only 0.28 points. This is a low level globally, which indicates the coherence of the performance of exports in the country in the face of fluctuations caused by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of global trade performance in general, its growth remained strong during 2021, as the value of growth continued to increase in each quarter of 2021. The growth of trade was not limited to goods alone, as trade in services grew significantly until 2021 to finally reach pre-pandemic levels during the fourth quarter of 2021.

In general, the value of global trade reached a record level of about $ 28.5 trillion in 2021, which is an increase of about 25 percent compared to 2020, and an increase of about 13 percent compared to the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

The growth of global trade mostly stabilized during the first half of 2021, and the growth continued in the second half of the same year. After a relatively slow third quarter, trade growth picked up again in the fourth quarter of 2021 when the value of global trade increased by about three percent compared to the third quarter.

The UNCTAD report stated that trade in goods and services followed similar patterns during 2021. It witnessed a stronger rise during the first half of the year. During the fourth quarter of 2021, trade in goods increased by about $ 200 billion to reach about $ 5.8 trillion, which is a new record. During the same period, trade in services increased by about $ 50 billion to reach about $1.6 trillion, a value slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels. On an annual basis, trade in goods outperformed trade in services, with increases of 27 percent and 17 percent respectively.

This news has been read 11447 times!