Foreign news on May 10, the World Trade Organization (WTO) stated that in the challenging 2022, the global textile industry will be partially supported by increased demand for medical masks, offsetting the decline in clothing demand. The WTO stated that although a recent report showed that global textile trade volume would decrease by 1% and 2% in 2022 and 2021, compared with the 2019 COVID-19 epidemic, the trade volume increased by 14%.
According to the WTO’s “Global Trade Outlook and Statistical Report”, clothing trade has experienced significant growth, with an increase of 9% in 2022 and 17% in 2021 compared with the previous year. .
It is worth noting that global apparel trade will increase by 16% in 2022 compared with 2019, indicating a strong recovery in demand, exceeding pre-epidemic levels.
In terms of value, global merchandise trade will increase by 12% to US$252.6 trillion in 2022. However, the growth rate is less than the significant increase of 27% in 2021, and a decrease of 5.3% in 2022. Importantly, global merchandise trade in 2022 will be 32% higher than the pre-epidemic level in 2019.
The WTO report predicts that global merchandise trade volume will increase by 1.7% in 2023 and by a further 3.2% in 2024. However, this forecast is not without risks, as geopolitical tensions, food insecurity, potential financial instability due to tight monetary policy, and rising debt levels may all put downward risks to the estimated growth rate.
