WT/COMTD/W/212  
 
2 November 2015  
(15-5804)  Page: 1/60  
Committee on Trade and Development 
   
 
   
PARTICIPATION OF DEVELOPING ECONOM IES IN THE GLOBAL TRADING SYSTEM 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT* 
 
EXECUTIVE SU MMARY ...................................................................................................... 2  
1   INTROD UCTION  .......................................................................................................... 4  
2   OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................  4 
2.1   Developing economies' exports and imports grew faster than world trade in 2013 
and 2014 ......................................................................................................................... 4  
2.2   Developing economies' participat ion in world trade remained high .................................... 5  
3   MERCHANDISE TRADE DEVELO PMENTS BETWEEN 2012 AND 2014  ............................. 7  
3.1   Trade grew unevenly ac ross developing  regions ............................................................. 7  
3.2   South-South trade grow th remained sustained .............................................................. 8  
3.3   Agricultural products and manufactures showed positive performance while trade in 
fuels and non-fuel mi nerals dropped .................................................................................... 9  
3.4   Collapsing fuel price shrinks developi ng economies' exports but boosts imports ................. 10 
3.5   Developing economies' merchandise trad e by region ..................................................... 12 
3.5.1   Latin America ........................................................................................................ 13 
3.5.2   Develo ping Europe ................................................................................................. 14 
3.5.3   Africa ................................................................................................................ ... 15 
3.5.4   Middle East ...........................................................................................................  17 
3.5.5   Developing Asia ..................................................................................................... 18 
4   TRADE IN COMMERCIAL SERVICES 2012-2014 .......................................................... 19  
4.1   Tr anspor t ............................................................................................................... . 22 
4.2   Travel .................................................................................................................. ... 26 
4.3   Other commercial services  and goods-rela ted services ................................................... 29 
4.4   Modes of supply ....................................................................................................... 34 
5   THE IMPORTANCE OF GVCS FOR DEVELOPING ECONOMIES EVIDENCED 
THROUGH THE TRADE IN VA LUE ADDED A PPROACH ...................................................... 36  
ANNEX ......................................................................................................................... .. 41 
APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................  43 
 
                                               
* This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to thei r rights and obligations under the WTO. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
After decelerating in 2011, the global economy continued to grow at a slower pace in the period 
2012-2014. Trade and GDP increased at the same rate (by less than 3%), unlike in the early 2000s, when trade grew twice as fast as GDP. Despite improvements in demand in the 
U n i t e d  S t a t e s  ( U S )  a n d  s i g n s  o f  m o d e s t  r e c o v e r y  i n  t h e  e u r o  z o n e ,  r i s i n g  g e o p o l i t i c a l  t e n s i o n s ,  
falling commodity prices and import demand in emerging economies affected global output. For both developed and developing economies trade growth lost speed.  
In 2014, developing economies showed a mere 1% increase in exports and zero growth in imports. 
Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East were ne gatively affected by drops in fuel prices and 
declines in the prices of other commodities. Developing Europe and developing Asia registered positive trade growth, though at a decelerating rate. As a result, developing economies' 
participation in world merchandise exports remained at 43.6%, almost the same level of 2012, and 
their share of imports rose only modestly, mark ing a slowdown from the swift growth of past 
years.  
Nevertheless, developing economies' merchandise trade grew faster than world trade in both 2013 
and 2014. South-South trade remained sustained an d expanded to represent an ever increasing 
share of developing economies' exports (53.9% in 2014). Between 2012 and 2014, it rose by 6%, 
recording stronger growth than trade with developed economies and the Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS).   Among the major product categories, manufacture s registered the fastest growth (5% in 2014), 
fostered by developing Asia's exports. Manufactures continued to be the most important sector for 
developing economies, accounting for 63% of developing economies' merchandise exports in 2014. Exports of agricultural products, which in 2014 re presented 8% of total exports, also recorded 
positive growth (1%), although this growth was slower than in 2013.  
 Over the period, increased global supply and a falling global demand due to the sluggish global 
economic context affected fuel prices, which collapsed. Fuel exporters in developing economies 
saw their exports drop significantly. The share of fuels in the developing group's exports fell from 
25% in 2012 to 21% in 2014. The price of minerals and non-ferrous metals also showed declines, while the price of food and beverages remained qu ite stable following the peak prices of wheat, 
maize, and barley recorded in 2011.  
 Starting in 2015, statistics on trade in commercial services reflect the new services classification 
contained in the 6
th edition of the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6). Thus, data presented 
in this paper are not comparable to previous editions.  
In 2014, for the first time, developing economies' participation in world trade in commercial 
services declined to 30.2% (compared to 30.7% in 2012), as developing Asia's contribution to 
global exports contracted. Developing economies' demand for commercial services thrived, fostered by developing Asia and the Middle East, and the group raised its participation in world 
imports to 38% in 2014.  
Between 2012 and 2014, developing economies' transport exports stagnated, mirroring weak flows 
in merchandise trade and falling oil prices. Travel exports continued to expand, although at a decelerating rate. Developing economies remained net exporters of travel, which represents an 
important source of revenue, in particular for the LDCs. However, the travel surplus - which grew 
steadily over recent years - declined sharply in 2014 as developing economies' payments for travel abroad surged. Compared to 2012, the developing group gained four percentage points in share in 
world travel imports, in particular thanks to China. Since 2012, the economy became the world's 
leading travel spender.  
In 2014, developing economies' exports of other commercial services increased by 6%. Around 
44% of world construction exports originated from the developing economies. According to 
available data, South–South trade plays a major role. Developing economies continued to be 
important players in world exports of other business services, and telecommunications, computer and information services. However, other services sectors such insurance and pension services, 
financial services, and charges for the use of intellectual property not included elsewhere (n.i.e.) 
remained dominated by developed economies. This points to the persistent difficulties in terms of WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  human skills and financial resources for the developing economies to penetrate the highest 
segments of services trade. However, it is encouraging that developing economies' export growth was sustained for these sectors.  
WTO estimates on the relative importance of trade by mode of supply suggests that mode 2 
(consumption abroad) is dominant in developing economies, although its importance varied 
significantly across developing regions. Mode 1 (cross-border supply) also played an important role, accounting for more than a quarter of developing economies' total commercial services 
exports. Mode 3 cannot reliably be estimated due to the lack of adequate statistics (Foreign 
Affiliate Trade Statistics (FATS)).   
Global value chains (GVCs) are known to play an important role in developing economies' trade 
growth. The level of participation of developing economies in GVCs can be estimated with trade in 
value added data that are available from the OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database. 
The new version of TiVA, released in June 2015, covers 24 developing economies and enables an assessment of their roles and linkages to GVCs. The GVC participation index confirms their 
involvement not only as assemblers or natural resources exporters, but also as value added 
providers along the international supply chains. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  This document has been prepared by the Secretariat to assist the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) in meeting its requirement to continuously review the participation of developing economy Members in the multilateral trading system. It updates previous studies on 
this topic produced for the Committee in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013.
1 
The first part of this report provides an overvi ew of developing economies' trade since 2012. The 
second part reviews detailed aspects and salient features of developing economies' merchandise 
trade from 2012 to 2014, while the third part focuses on their trade in commercial services. An 
update of developing economies' involvement in GVCs, as measured by the TiVA statistics database, concludes the document. The Annex describes some aspects of developing economies' domestic conditions for trading across borders. Furthermore, the statistical appendix contains 
specific tabulations as well as the composition of regions and economic groupings used in this 
report.
2 
1.2.  Wherever relevant, tables include memorand um items on the trade performance of the least 
developed countries (LDCs), which are a subset of developing economies. Specific aspects of their 
trade are, however, not discussed as they are the subject of another recent in-depth study.3 
2  OVERVIEW 
2.1  Developing economies' exports and impo rts grew faster than world trade in 2013 
and 2014 
2.1.  After decelerating in 2011, the global economy continued to grow at a slower pace in the 
period 2012-2014. Trade and GDP increased at the same rate (by less than 3%), unlike in the 
early 2000s, when trade grew twice as fast as GD P. Despite improvements in demand in the US 
and signs of modest recovery in the euro zone, rising geopolitical tensions, falling commodity 
prices and import demand in emerging economies affected global output. In 2014, China recorded 
the slowest GDP growth since 2000 (9%). Under these conditions, the volume of world 
merchandise trade expanded only by 2.4% on average between 2012 and 2014.  
2.2.  The sluggish economic conditions affected the trade growth of developing economies, which 
decelerated to 4% on average from 2012 to 2014, down from 17% and 7% recorded, respectively, 
in 2010 and 2011. On a short term basis, the vo lume of merchandise exports by developing 
economies and the CIS from Q4 2012 to Q4 2014 rose at an average of 1% per trimester.4 Despite 
the adverse economic context, developing economies' trade continued to grow faster than world 
trade. 
                                               
1 The 2013 document is WT/COMTD/W/201. 
2 Data published in this document (unless otherwise indicated) are derived from the WTO's International 
Trade Statistics Report  2015 and, the WTO's Statistics Database 
(www.wto.org/english/res_e/ statis_e/statis_e.htm ). For more information on the definitions of indicators and 
detailed sources of data, see the Technical Notes in the above-mentioned report or the WTO's Statistics 
website. 
3 WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60. 
4 This aggregate is a reliable approximation of deve loping economies, which account for over 90% of the 
total of developing plus CIS econom ies. Developing economies are not available separately from the CIS in 
WTO's quarterly merchandise trade volume statistics.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  Chart 1: World, developed, developing an d CIS economies quarterly merchandise trade 
volume, 2012-2015 
(Indices 2012Q1=100, seasonally adjusted) 
 
2.3.  On an annual basis, developing economies' merchandise export and import volumes 
increased, respectively, by 4.1% and 5.7% in 2013, then by 3.4 and 2.9% in 2014. In terms of 
current US dollars, the decrease was sharper: annual growth in developing economies' merchandise export and import value declined from 3% in 2013 to only 0.5% in 2014.  
Chart 2: World and developing economie s' trade in merchandise and commercial 
services, in nominal terms, 2012-2014 
(Annual % change) 
 
 
2.4.  In contrast, developing economies' trade in commercial services decelerated in 2013 but picked up at a faster pace in 2014. Their export s and imports went up by 4% and 6% in 2013, and 
increased by 5% and 7%, respectively, during 2014. As was the case for merchandise trade, 
developing economies' trade in commercial services on average increased faster than world trade 
over the period.  
2.2  Developing economies' particip ation in world trade remained high 
2.5.  The contribution of developing econom ies to world merchandise exports has increased 
significantly since the early 2000s. However, developing economies' input to world merchandise exports in 2014, estimated at 43.6%, remained almost at the same level recorded in 2012. 
Developing economies' sustained growth of merchandise imports resulted in a sharp increase in 
their participation in global flows, reaching 41% in 2014. Nevertheless, participation during the period 2012-2014 rose only modestly, marking a slow down from the swift growth of past years.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  Chart 3: Share of developing economies in world trade, 2005-2014 
(%) 
 
 
2.6.  Developing economies play an increasingly important role in trade in commercial services. 
Rising imports of commercial services boosted developing economies' participation in world imports, which expanded from 28.4% in 2005 to 38% in 2014. However, since 2012, the share 
increased by only around 1 percentage point. Th e share of developing economies in world exports 
rose at a slower pace, from 24.4% in 2005 to 30.2% in 2014.  
Table 1: Developing economies trade in goods and commercial services between 2005 
and 2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Imports 
 Value Share in world Value Share in world 
 2014 2005 2012 2014 2014 2005 2012 2014 
Developing economiesa 9538 33.1 41.5 41.0 8962 29.9 39.7 40.1 
Developing Asiaa 5939 18.8 24.7 25.6 5541 17.8 24.5 24.8 
China 2476 6.2 9.9 10.7 2190 5.2 9.1 9.8 
Korea, Republic of 727 2.7 3.2 3.1 643 2.5 3.1 2.9 
Othera 2735 10.0 11.6 11.8 2708 10.1 12.3 12.1 
Non-Asian developing 
economies 3599 14.2 16.8 15.5 3421 12.0 15.2 15.3 
Latin America 1263 5.3 5.8 5.4 1333 4.9 6.0 6.0 
Brazil 264 1.1 1.3 1.1 317 0.8 1.4 1.4 
Middle East 1418 4.9 6.6 6.1 1016 3.3 4.4 4.6 
Memorandum items                 
Developed countries 12822 63.8 54.4 55.2 12679 67.9 56.9 56.8 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 879 3.1 4.1 3.8 686 2.2 3.4 3.1 
a Excluding Hong Kong, China re-exports or imports for re-exports. 
Note: Data for goods and commercial services is based on the Balance-of-Payments methodology.  
 
2.7.  Developing Asia remained the largest and fastest growth region in trade in goods and commercial services, reaching 25.6% of world exports in 2014, compared with 18.8% in 2005 
(Table 1). Developing Asia's share of world expo rts increased by about 1 percentage point between 
2012 and 2014, but the overall share of the non-Asia n developing economies fell slightly over the 
period. This was partly due to the decline in commodity prices in recent years. On the import side, all regions raised their contribution to total imports between 2005 and 2014.  
2.8.  From 2012 to 2014, of the 146 developing economies whose data or estimates are available, 
68 recorded a faster growth in exports of goods and commercial services than the world, while on 
the import side, their number was 73. Although 63%  of the economies showed positive evolutions 
during the period, only about 38 of the economie s are net exporters of goods and services, and of 
which, four of them are LDCs. Of the 108 econom ies that are net importers, about 55% of them WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  improved their cover ratio (the ratio of export s to imports) between 2012 and 2014. Of the 
remaining half, the cover ratio of 25 developing economies, including nine LDCs, deteriorated by more than five percentage points. Overall, 28 developing economies among the net importers had a cover ratio inferior to 50% in 2014, including 19 LDCs.  
3  MERCHANDISE TRADE DEVELOPMENTS BETWEEN 2012 AND 2014 
3.1  Trade grew unevenly across developing regions  3.1.  Following the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, merchandise trade experienced a period of 
growth and recovery which began to taper off in 2011. Both developed and developing economies 
showed trade growth levelling off in subsequent  years. In 2014, developing economies showed a 
mere 1% increase in exports and zero growth in imports.  
3.2.  However, trade grew unevenly among the five developing regions due to several factors 
including political stability, their dependence on  commodity exports, changes in global commodity 
prices, and the corresponding economic strength of main trading partners.  
Chart 4: Quarterly merchandise trade valu e of developing economies by region, 
2012-2014 
(Indices 2012Q1=100, not seasonally adjusted) 
 
 
3.3.  Economies in Northern Africa and the Middle East continued to be affected by repercussions 
of the Arab Spring of 2011. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East affected trade flows in the region. Libya experienced disruptions to its oil production, though other factors including increased 
oil production by the US added to global oil supplie s and contributed to a drop in fuel prices. This 
drop in fuel prices impacted the trade growth of Africa and the Middle East, two regions highly 
dependent on fuel exports (as seen in Chart 4). Furthermore, in 2014 several West African 
countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) faced an Ebola virus outbreak, which, coupled with 
falling commodity prices in key export sectors, weighed heavily on their economic activity.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  3.4.  In developing Asia, exports and imports of the NICs (6) economies5 were almost stagnant. 
Exports showed no growth in 2012 and an incr ease of only 1% in both 2013 and 2014, while 
imports recorded a 2% increase in 2012 and no growth in 2013 or 2014. The rest of developing Asia (which includes China) showed increases in exports of 5% in 2013 and 4% in 2014, which 
was stronger than the export growth of any other developing region or developed economies in the 
same period. This was largely due to the strength of China's external sector; China's exports increased by 8% and 6% in 2013 and 2014, respec tively. Despite positive growth, China showed a 
significant deceleration in trade as the economy had recorded a 20% increase in exports and a 
25% rise in imports in 2011.  
Table 2: Developing economies merchandise trade by regions and selected economies, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and % change) 
 Exports Imports 
 Value Annual % change Value Annual % change 
 2014 2013 2014 2014 2013 2014 
Developing economiesa 8072 2 1 7639 3 0 
Latin America 1092 0 -2 1151 3 -1 
Developing Europe 186 2 4 289 6 -3 
Africa 555 -6 -8 642 3 1 
Middle East 1288 0 -4 784 6 0 
Developing Asiaa 4951 5 4 4773 3 1 
China  2342 8 6 1959 7 0 
NICs (6)a 1773 1 1 1753 0 0 
Other 835 5 4 1060 0 2 
Memorandum items       
Worlda 18494 2 0 18641 1 1 
Developed economies 9686 3 0 10493 0 1 
Commonwealth of Independent 
States 735 -2 -6 506 0 -11 
LDCs (48) 207 4 -2 266 9 5 
a Excluding Hong Kong, China re-exports or imports for re-exports. 
 
3.5.  Latin American trade growth was largely affe cted by economic slowdowns in four out of the 
top five economies in the region: Brazil, Chile,  Argentina, and the Bolivarian Republic of 
Venezuela. Chile's trade growth was affected by falling copper prices, Argentina by the decreasing 
price of soybeans, while dropping fuel prices im pacted the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's 
exports. Fuels represent 20% of Latin Americ a's exports and the drop in mid-2014 of other 
developing economies' exports (which comprise Latin America and developing Europe) followed a similar trend as that of the drop in fuel prices during the same period. Developing Europe recorded 
increases in exports in the period between 2012 and 2014, but as it only represented 
approximately 2% of developing economies' total exports, the impact was negligible. 
3.2  South-South trade growth remained sustained
6 
3.6.  South-South trade is an important feature of developing economies' trade. The contribution 
of South-South trade to developing economies' exports continued to grow and, in 2014, accounted for 53.9% of developing economies' exports. South-South trade grew by 6% between 2012 and 
2014. On the other hand, developing economies' trade with developed and CIS countries remained 
relatively flat, with exports only increasing by 1%  and imports by 2%. Intra-developing Asia trade, 
which accounts for 47% of South-South trade, showed a 9% increase between 2012 and 2014. However, growth of South-South trade was not as dynamic compared to the period 2010-2012, 
when it grew by 33%.  
                                               
5 The NICs (6) economies, or "Six East-Asian trader s", are: Hong Kong, China;  the Republic of Korea; 
Malaysia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; and Thailand. The co mposition of the reporter and partner groups used in 
this report is prov ided in Annex 7. 
6 Statistics described in this section are sourced from the WTO network of world merchandise trade, 
which is based on the geographical di stribution of exports adjusted for di stortions relating to large re-export 
activities. Import data might thus  slightly differ from st atistics published by other official sources. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  Chart 5: Developing economies' merchandis e trade with developing, developed and CIS 
economies, 2000-2014 
(Billion US$) 
 
 
3.7.  China continued to be a major player in South-South trade. In 2014, China absorbed 8% of 
Latin America's exports, and 11% of Africa's and Middle Eastern exports. China is a major importer 
of minerals and non-ferrous metals from other developing economies, absorbing one third of 
Latin America's and a quarter of Africa's exports of minerals and non-ferrous metals. However, its 
demand for raw materials and commodities slowed in 2014. As one of the main partners in South-South trade, this affected its developing trading partners.  
Table 3: Origins and destinations of deve loping economies' merchandise trade by 
economic groupings, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Value % change Share in world 
 2014 2013 2014 12-14a 2012 2013 2014 
South-South trade, of which 4220 4 1 6 22.1 22.6 22.8 
Intra developing Asia 1986 7 3 9 10.1 10.5 10.7 
Developing Asia extra imports of which  859 2 -3 -1 4.8 4.8 4.6 
China 302 6 -3 2 1.6 1.7 1.6 
Other developing Asia 557 0 -3 -3 3.2 3.1 3.0 
Developing Asia extra exports of which  723 5 8 13 3.5 3.6 3.9 
China 377 7 11 19 1.8 1.8 2.0 
Other developing Asia 345 2 5 7 1.8 1.8 1.9 
Trade among non-Asian developing 
economies 653 1 -3 -2 3.7 3.6 3.5 
Exports to developed and CIS countries 3612 0 1 1 19.9 19.4 19.5 
Imports from developed and CIS countries 3052 4 -1 2 16.6 16.8 16.5 
Memorandum item        
World trade 18494 2 0 3 100 100 100 
a 2012-14: Statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather 
than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
 
3.3  Agricultural products and manufactures showed positive performance while trade in 
fuels and non-fuel minerals dropped 
3.8.  Developing economies' growth of agricult ural product trade slowed over the period, in 
particular in 2014, with agricultural exports increasing by 4% in 2013 and by 1% in 2014. Similarly, imports of agricultural products grew by 5% in 2013 and only by 2% in 2014. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  Nevertheless, developing economies as a group maintained their share of world trade in 
agricultural products in the range of 38-40%. China, which contributes to more than 20% of developing Asia's agricultural exports, showed increases of 6% in both 2013 and 2014. 
3.9.  Manufactures also showed positive growth. The sector accounts for the largest share of trade 
in Latin America, developing Europe, and developing Asia. Office and telecom equipment, which 
represents 24% of developing economies' manufac tures exports, increased by 8% in 2013 and by 
3% in 2014. Exports of transportation equipment and other machinery, which accounts for more 
than a quarter of developing economies' manufactu res exports, were up by 5% in 2013 and by 4% 
in 2014. 
3.10.  All developing regions recorded decreases in fuel exports. Overall, developing economies' 
exports of fuels fell by 5% in 2013, declining mo re pronouncedly in 2014 (-7%). As a result, their 
share in world exports contracted from 58% in 2012 to 56% in 2014 and the contribution of fuels 
to developing economies' total merchandise exports fell from 25% in 2012 to 21% in 2014. 
3.11.  Although developing economies' imports of fuels fell in both 2013 and 2014, their 
contribution to world imports rose to 43% in 2014. This was largely due to a decrease in 
developed economies' participation from 54% in  2012 to 52% in 2014 following a sharp drop in 
the US' and developed Europe's imports of fuels (-17% and -12%, respectively).  
3.12.  Finally, developing economies' exports of non-fuel minerals declined in 2013 and 2014. 
Demand by the developed economies, which accounts for more than a third of developing economies' non-fuel exports, decreased by 7% in 2013 and by 4% in 2014. Imports of non-fuel 
minerals by developing economies also slowed, led by a fall in demand in developing Asia. Chinese 
demand for non-fuel mineral imports, which in creased by 7% in 2013, fell by 12% in 2014. As 
China's economic growth slowed, its demand for raw materials did as well. Exports of non-fuel 
minerals by developed economies showed a similar drop: a decrease of 3% in 2013 and a 
decrease of 2% in 2014, indicating a weak global demand for these commodities. 
Table 4: Developing economies merc handise trade by product, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Importsa 
Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
All products 8072 43 44 2 1 7639 40 41 3 0 
Agricultural products 671 39 38 4 1 713 40 40 5 2 
Developing Asia 316 18 18 1 3 397 22 22 6 3 
Fuels 1719 58 56 -5 -7 1312 41 43 -1 -3 
Africa 298 11 10 -11 -13 99 3 3 3 1 
Middle East 815 27 27 -4 -7 69 2 2 5 2 
Developing Asia 385 12 13 0 -4 902 28 29 -1 -5 
Non-fuel minerals 291 41 40 -2 -4 354 48 49 1 -4 
Latin America 116 18 16 -5 -8 26 3 4 -5 4 
Developing Asia 94 12 13 3 1 281 38 39 3 -6 
Manufactures 5109 40 42 6 5 4607 38 38 4 3 
Developing Asia 4099 32 33 6 5 2698 22 22 4 3 
a The import structure is derived from the WTO network of world merchandise trade. 
 
3.4  Collapsing fuel price shrinks developi ng economies' exports but boosts imports  
3.13.  Between 2012 and 2014, the price of fuels dropped by 11% and was a main driver behind 
the changes in exports and imports seen in several developing regions. After benefitting in 2010 and 2011 from fuel price increases, oil export ing economies in the Middle East, Africa, and 
Latin America suffered from sharp fuel price declines, especially in the second half of 2014. As 
crude petroleum prices dropped by 3% in 2013 and by 9% in 2014, and the price of metals 
dropped by 4% and 10% in 2013 and 2014, developi ng economies' exports of fuels and non-fuel 
minerals dropped.  
3.14.  However, oil import-dependent economies benefitted from the decrease in fuel prices. 
Several African countries including Benin, Sao Tomé and Principe, and The Gambia saw a decrease WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  as large as 5-6% in the share of fuels as a portion of the value of their total imports in 2014 
compared to 2012. Thus, the drop in fuel prices should boost  imports in net fuel importing economies in the developing group while reducing them in fuel exporters.  
3.15.  The price of food and beverages remained relatively stable in the period 2012-2014, 
decreasing only by 2% in 2014. Within the catego ry of food, the price of cereals including wheat, 
maize, and barley came down from the highs re corded in 2011 when drought and severe weather 
conditions reduced global stocks of cereal crops. The price of agricultural raw materials revealed a 
similarly stable trend. After declining from a peak price in 2011, the price of agricultural raw 
materials increased by 2% in both 2013 and 2014. 
3.16.  A ramp up in recent years in production and supply of metals combined with new market 
expectations of a slowdown in global demand brought metal prices down between 2012 and 2014. 
Metal prices decreased by 17% in 2012 from a high in 2011, and continued to decrease an 
additional 4% in 2013 and 10% in 2014. The pric e of copper dropped by 14% between 2012 and 
2014.  
3.17.  Comparing 2014 with 2012, changes in developing economies' export product composition 
mainly reflected the decreasing share of fuels in  total merchandise exports, from 25% in 2012 to 
21% in 2014. 
Chart 6: Monthly price developments fo r selected primary commodities, 2012-2015 
(Indices, January 2012=100) 
 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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  Chart 7: Selected flows in developing economies' trade and world prices, 2012-2014 
(Annual % change) 
 
 
 
Chart 8: Product composition of developing economies' exports, 2012 and 2014 
(%) 
 
 
3.5  Developing economies' merchandise trade by region 
3.18.  Of the five developing regions, only developing Europe and developing Asia showed 
increases in both exports and imports in the period between 2012 and 2014. Oil exporters in 
Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East were a ffected by an increased global supply of oil and 
subsequent drop in fuel prices, dampening growth in those regions. Developing Asia’s growth in 
trade was largely buoyed by China, although even  China’s trade growth began to show signs of a 
slow-down by 2014.  
Table 5: Developing economies merchandise trade by regions and selected economies, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Imports 
Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
Developing economiesa 8072 43 44 2 1 7639 40 41 3 0 
Latin America 1092 6 6 0 -2 1151 6 6 3 -1 
Mexico 398 2 2 3 5 412 2 2 3 5 
Other Latin America 695 4 4 -2 -6 739 4 4 3 -5 
Developing Europe 186 1 1 2 4 289 2 2 6 -3 
Turkey 158 1 1 0 4 242 1 1 6 -4 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
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   Exports Imports 
Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
Africa 555 4 3 -6 -8 642 3 3 3 1 
North Africa 151 1 1 -12 -14 215 1 1 -1 3 
Sub-Saharan Africa 404 2 2 -3 -5 427 2 2 5 0 
South Africa 91 1 0 -4 -5 122 1 1 -1 -3 
Middle East 1288 7 7 0 -4 784 4 4 6 0 
Developing Asiaa 4951 25 27 5 4 4773 25 26 3 1 
China  2342 11 13 8 6 1959 10 11 7 0 
NICs (6)a 1773 10 10 1 1 1753 10 9 0 0 
Other 835 4 5 5 4 1060 6 6 0 2 
Memorandum items           
Worlda 18494 100 100 2 0 18641 100 100 1 1 
Developed economies 9686 52 52 3 0 10496 57 56 0 1 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 735 4 4 -2 -6 506 3 3 0 -11 
LDCs (48) 207 1 1 4 -2 266 1 1 9 5 
a Excluding Hong Kong, China re-exports or imports for re-exports. 
 
3.5.1  Latin America 
3.19.  After registering a 25% increase in the value of Latin American exports in 2011, the 
subsequent years showed dampened economic ac tivity: a 1% increase in 2012, no change in 
2013, and a 2% decrease in 2014. In 2014, only 14 economies saw their exports rise faster than 
world trade, compared to 25 in 2011 and 29 in 2012.  
3.20.  In 2014, the region showed an overall trad e decline, with exports down by 2% and imports 
down by 1%. Argentina showed a decrease of 12% in exports and 11% in imports. Imports were constrained by the difficulty to access international finance in a situation of decreasing export 
revenues, due to a weak Brazilian economy which led to decreased Brazilian demand for 
Argentinian goods, and a drop in the international prices of important export commodities such as soybeans. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sh owed decreases in both exports and imports in 
the period 2012-2014. In 2014, exports decreased by 10% and imports by 19%. This period was 
marked by severe economic turmoil in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the country officially entered a recession in 2014. 
3.21.  However, other economies in the region recorded positive growth. The Dominican Republic, 
Ecuador, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Peru saw double digit growth in their agricultural exports from 2013 to 2014, and most reflected steady growth in this sector from 2010 onwards.  
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 14 - 
 
  Table 6: Summary indicators on Lati n America merchandise trade, 2012-2014 
(% and number) 
 Exports Imports 
 2012-14a 2013 2014 2012-14a 2013 2014 
Trade value, % change -3 0 -2 1 3 -1 
Trade volume, % change 4 3 2 4 3 0 
Economies with value growth higher than 
world trade (number, total=41) 14 16 14 17 22 15 
Main traders (% change)       
Mexico 7 3 5 8 3 5 
Brazil -7 0 -7 2 7 -5 
Chile -3 -2 -1 -10 -1 -9 
Argentina -10 2 -12 -4 8 -11 
Venezuela, Bolivarian Rep. of -17 -9 -10 -27 -10 -19 
Above 5, share in the region - 78 78 - 73 72 
Region trade by product (% change)       
Agricultural products 4 6 -1 3 2 1 
Fuels -15 -8 -7 -5 -5 0 
Other mining products -13 -5 -8 -1 -5 4 
Manufactures 5 4 2 0 2 -1 
Product share in region's trade (%) 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 
Agricultural products 20 22 22 9 9 9 
Fuels 22 21 20 17 16 16 
Other mining products 12 11 11 2 2 2 
Manufactures 41 43 45 69 70 70 
a 2012-14: statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
 
3.22.  As seen in Table 6, among the main Latin American traders, Mexico was the only country to 
show increases in exports in both 2013 and 2014. Closely linked to the economies of its trading partners in North America, Mexico had consistent increases in its exports of agricultural products and manufactures in 2013 and 2014. Exports of agricultural products to North America increased 
by 12% in 2013 and 6% in 2014. Exports of manufa ctures to North America increased by 7% and 
10% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. As North America is Mexico’s largest regional trading partner (81% of Mexico's exports of merchandise trade reached North America in 2012 and 83% in 2014), 
Mexico benefitted from the improved economic conditions in the US during the period.  
Chart 9: Latin America merchandise exports by destination, 2012-2014 
(%) 
 
 
3.5.2  Developing Europe 
3.23.  Between 2012 and 2014, developing Europe's  exports increased by 6% and imports by 3%. 
Several countries in the region reported a notable rise in exports: in Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia exports were up  by 24% and 23% respectively, while in Serbia 
exports expanded by 32%. The European Union (EU)  remained developing Europe's largest trading 
partner and its share of the region's exports gr ew to 47% in 2014 after contracting to 43% in 
2012. Exports to the EU grew by 9% in 2013 and by 7% in 2014. Intra-regional trade, which 
represents about 7% of developing Europe's trade, increased by 7% in 2013 and 4% in 2014.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 15 - 
 
  3.24.  In 2012, Turkey recorded a significant increa se in gold exports to Iran and the United Arab 
Emirates. Gold exports were used as a form of payment to Iran for fuel imports as international sanctions isolated Iran from the international financial system and severely restricted banking transactions with the economy. In 2012, gold a ccounted for 7% of Turkey's exports and 6% of 
developing Europe's exports. However, in 2013 Turk ey's exports of gold dropped to a quarter of 
the amount exported in 2012 and by 2014 the leve l of gold exports returned to pre-2012 levels. 
As seen in Chart 10, the Middle East's share of developing Europe's exports remained stable at 
16% in 2012 and 2014 if Turkey's exports of gold are removed. 
Table 7: Summary indicators on developi ng Europe merchandise trade, 2012-2014 
(% and number) 
 Exports Imports 
 2012-14a 2013 2014 2012-14a 2013 2014 
Trade value, % change 6 2 4 3 6 -3 
excl. Turkey's gold to Iran and UAE 13 7 5    
Trade volume, % change 8 2 5 8 8 0 
excl. Turkey's gold to Iran and UAE 15 7 7    
Economies with value growth higher than 
world trade (number, total=6) 5 5 5 5 4 3 
Main traders (% change)       
Turkey 3 0 4 2 6 -4 
excl. gold exports to Iran and UAE 11 6 5    
Serbia 32 30 2 9 9 0 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 14 10 4 10 3 7 
Above 3, share in the region - 96 96 - 95 95 
Region trade by product (% change)       
Agricultural products 16 10 6 9 4 5 
Fuels -22 -4 -18 4 -2 6 
Other mining products -1 7 -7 -11 -11 1 
Manufactures 15 9 5 11 10 0 
Product share in region's trade (%) 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 
Agricultural products 11 12 13 8 8 8 
Fuels 5 5 4 22 20 22 
Other mining products 5 5 4 7 6 6 
Manufactures 70 74 75 59 61 61 
a 2012-14: statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather 
than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
 
Chart 10: Developing Europe merchand ise exports by destination, 2012-2014 
(%) 
 
 
3.5.3  Africa 
3.25.  Although 28 African countries recorded exports increasing at a rate higher than world trade 
between 2012 and 2014, Africa's overall exports sh owed a 13% decline. In 2014, all eight oil and 
gas exporters recorded dropping exports. As shown in Chart 4, declines in African exports tracked 
closely with declines in fuel prices. Overall as  a group, the oil and gas exporters showed a 23% 
decrease in exports between 2012 and 2014. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 16 - 
 
  3.26.  Out of the eight oil and gas exporters, Liby a recorded the most dramatic fall in exports, 
plunging by 29% in 2013 and by 52% in 2014. Despite a recovery in oil production levels in 2012, political instability in 2013 and 2014 resulted in sharp export declines. Economically, Libya is heavily dependent on its oil sector, thus disrupti ons in oil production severely affected Libya’s 
economy.  
3.27.  Of the countries with positive growth, Beni n's export expansion reflected increasing exports 
of manufactures as well as fuels and mining products. Its manufactures exports tripled in value 
from 2013 to 2014 and the value of its fuels and mi ning exports in 2014 was 2.5 times its value in 
2013. Algeria's manufactures exports also more than doubled in value in 2014, and the value of Kenya's fuels and mining exports was 2.5 times larger in 2014 than in 2013.  
Table 8: Summary indicators on Africa merchandise trade, 2012-2014 
(% and number) 
 Exports Imports 
 2012-14a 2013 2014 2012-14a 2013 2014 
Trade value, % change -13 -6 -8 4 3 1 
Trade volume, % change -6 -2 -3 8 5 3 
Economies with value growth higher than 
world trade (number, total=54) 28 23 27 32 32 30 
Main traders (% change)       
Oil and gas exporters (8)b -23 -11 -13 10 11 0 
South Africa -9 -4 -5 -4 -1 -3 
Egypt -8 -3 -5 -2 -16 16 
Morocco 10 2 8 2 1 1 
Tunisia -1 0 -2 1 -1 2 
Above 12, share in the region - 79 78 - 70 70 
Region trade by product (% change)       
Agricultural products 10 7 3 34 2 2 
Fuels -22 -11 -13 48 3 1 
Other mining products -5 1 -6 13 0 0 
Manufactures 9 7 2 19 7 5 
Product share in region's trade (%) 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 
Agricultural products 9 10 11 16 16 16 
Fuels 60 57 54 16 16 15 
Other mining products 8 9 9 2 2 2 
Manufactures 17 19 21 61 62 64 
a 2012-14: statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather 
than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
b Algeria, Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria and Sudan. 
 
3.28.  As mentioned in the previous report by the Secretariat (WT/COMTD/W/201), the US cut the 
value of its fuel imports from Africa by 30% between 2010 and 2012. The US further cut fuel 
imports from Africa between 2012 and 2014 by 59%  due to increased domestic production. This 
decrease in fuel imports contributed to a 47% drop  in the value of Africa’s total exports to North 
America in this period. In 2014, North America’s share in Africa’s total exports was only 7% compared to 11% in 2012. However, it should be noted that the size of South-South trade increased, with developing economies accounting for more than half of Africa's merchandise 
exports in 2014 (51%) up from 44% in 2012.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 17 - 
 
  Chart 11: Africa merchandise ex ports by destination, 2012-2014 
(%) 
 
 
3.5.4  Middle East 
3.29.  The value of Middle East exports fell by 5%  from 2012 to 2014, led by falling fuels exports 
by the region (-10% between 2012 and 2014), a reve rsal from the 40% increase registered in 
2011. In fact, the share of fuels as a portion of the Middle East total trade dropped as well, declining from 67% in 2012 to 63% in 2014. In 2013, the regions' fuel exports to Asia declined by 
1% and an additional 9% in 2014, which is significant as Asia consumed more than two-thirds of 
the Middle East’s fuel exports in those years.  
3.30.  As the leading oil producer in the regi on, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s total exports 
decreased by 3% in 2013 and by 6% in 2014 in stark contrast to the 45% increase recorded in 
2011. Due to innovations in the US shale industry, oil production in the US has grown. This has 
contributed to the overall world supply of oil, which is affecting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's and Middle Eastern oil exports.  
Table 9: Summary indicators on Middl e East merchandise trade, 2012-2014 
(% and number) 
 Exports Imports 
 2012-14a 2013 2014 2012-14a 2013 2014 
Trade value, % change -5 0 -4 7 6 0 
Trade volume, % change 3 2 1 6 6 1 
Economies with value growth higher than 
world trade (number, total=13) 4 5 3 7 8 6 
Main traders (% change)       
United Arab Emirates 3 9 -5 16 11 4 
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of -9 -3 -6 5 8 -3 
Qatar -1 3 -4 1 2 -1 
Iraq -10 -5 -6 5 8 -3 
Israel 8 6 2 0 -1 1 
Above 5, share in the region - 78 78 - 76 76 
Region trade by product (% change)       
Agricultural products 10 10 0 9 8 0 
Fuels -10 -4 -7 7 5 2 
Other mining products -12 -16 4 -7 -8 1 
Manufactures 5 3 2 12 3 9 
Product share in region's trade (%) 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 
Agricultural products 2 2 2 12 13 12 
Fuels 67 65 63 9 9 9 
Other mining products 2 1 2 3 2 2 
Manufactures 19 19 21 71 69 72 
a 2012-14: statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather 
than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
 
3.31.  Other major oil exporters recorded significant declines in total exports, such as Iraq with a 
10% decline from 2012 to 2014, and the State of Kuwait, which showed a 12% drop in the same period. Similarly, Iran's exports also fell sharply (-21%) in 2013 largely due to international 
sanctions. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 18 - 
 
  Chart 12: Middle East merchandise exports by destination, 2012-2014 
(%) 
 
 
3.5.5  Developing Asia 
3.32.  Developing Asia showed annual increases in both exports and imports for 2013 and 2014, 
though at a decelerating rate. China, which prod uces approximately 45% of the region’s export 
value, showed an 8% increase in exports in 2013 and a 6% increase in 2014. The NICs (6) economies, which produce approximately 35% of the region’s exports, only showed a 1% increase 
in both 2013 and 2014. Hong Kong, China's domestic exports declined by 30% from 2012 to 2014. 
3.33.  Between 2012 and 2014, 24 out of the 45 developing Asian economies saw their exports 
grow at a rate higher than that of world trade.  Economies which showed double-digit growth in 
exports during this period included Bangladesh (21%), Cambodia (38%), Myanmar (24%), the 
Philippines (19%), Sri Lanka (20%), and Viet Nam (31%). 
Table 10: Summary indicators on develo ping Asia merchandise trade, 2012-2014 
(% and number) 
 Exports Imports 
 2012-14a 2013 2014 2012-14a 2013 2014 
Trade value, % change 9 5 4 4 3 1 
Trade volume, % change 12 6 5 10 6 4 
Economies with value growth higher than 
world trade (number, total=45) 24 16 26 29 23 28 
Main traders (% change)       
China 14 8 6 8 7 0 
NICs (6) 2 1 1 0 0 0 
India 8 6 2 -5 -5 -1 
Indonesia -7 -4 -3 -7 -3 -5 
Viet Nam 31 15 14 31 16 13 
Above 10, share in the region - 96 96 - 95 94 
Region trade by product (% change)       
Agricultural products 4 1 3 34 6 3 
Fuels -4 0 -4 53 -1 -5 
Other mining products 4 3 1 16 3 -6 
Manufactures 12 6 5 17 4 3 
Product share in region's trade (%) 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 
Agricultural products 7 6 6 8 9 9 
Fuels 9 8 8 22 21 20 
Other mining products 2 2 2 7 7 6 
Manufactures 81 82 83 58 58 60 
a 2012-14: statistics on % change refer to the difference between 2012 and 2014 in % terms rather 
than the average annual % change. Data in th e 2013 and 2014 columns refer to annual % changes. 
Note: Hong Kong, China re-exports and imports for re-exports are excluded. 
 
3.34.  Manufactures continued to dominate developi ng Asia’s overall exports. Manufactures’ share 
of the region’s trade increased by 2 percentage po ints from 2012, representing 83% of total trade 
by 2014. South-South trade gained importance. Im ports by the developing economies (including 
intra-regional trade) accounted for 52% of develo ping Asia’s exports of manufactures in 2014, and WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 19 - 
 
  increased by 14% between 2012 and 2014. Imports by developed economies accounted for 45% 
of the region’s exports of manufactures in 2014,  increasing by 9% between 2012 and 2014.   
Chart 13: Developing Asia merchand ise exports by destination, 2012-2014 
(%) 
 
 
4  TRADE IN COMMERCIAL SERVICES 2012-2014 
4.1.  At present, the main source of statistics on trade in commercial services is the 
balance-of-payments (BOP) framework. However, BOP data alone cannot provide a complete picture of the international supply of services as  defined in the General Agreement on Trade in 
Services (GATS). Services transactions in the BOP (usually named "trade in commercial services")
7 
provide a measure of the supply of services th rough GATS mode 1, mode 2 and mode 4, but 
services supplied through the establishment of a commercial presence in a foreign economy 
(mode 3) are virtually not captured.8 Furthermore, statistics compiled on commercial presence 
within the new framework of FATS are at present mainly available for the developed economies.9   
4.2.  The analysis of the international supply of services by developing economies in this Section is 
essentially based on BOP statistics. Starting with 2015, estimates jointly compiled by WTO, the 
United Nations Conference on Trade and Deve lopment (UNCTAD) and the International Trade 
Centre (ITC), reflect the new services classification contained in the 6th edition of the IMF Balance 
of Payments Manual (BPM6).10 Thus, data presented in this paper are not comparable to previous 
editions. 
4.3.  Developing economies' exports of commerc ial services rose by 4% on average per year 
between 2012 and 2014, reaching US$1490 billion in 2014. For the first time, developing 
economies' growth was slower than in the develo ped group (6%). To a large extent, this was due 
to China's declining exports in 2013 (-4%). The economy accounts for some 15% of developing economies' services exports. Overall, develo ping economies' imports were more dynamic, 
expanding by around 7% to US$1818 billion in 2014. 
4.4.  Developing economies' contribution to world exports of commercial services decreased 
slightly from 30.7% in 2012, to 30.2% in 2014. The decline was mainly due to developing Asia. The region lowered its share from 21.2% in 2012 to 20.9% in 2014 as China; Hong Kong, China; 
and the Republic of Korea saw their participation in global exports contract.  
                                               
7 Commercial services are compiled as total serv ices minus government g oods and services n.i.e. 
8 With an exception for the BOP item construction fo r which recorded transactions are deemed to refer 
to trade in services through modes 3 and/or 4. 
9 Hong Kong, China; Israel; Thailand; Viet Nam and Zambia are currently the only developing 
economies compiling FATS statistics on a regular basis.  
10 The new classification covers the following main ca tegories: manufacturing serv ices on physical inputs 
owned by others, , maintenance and re pair services n.i.e., transport, travel, construction, insurance and 
pension services, financial services, charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e, telecommunications, 
computer and information services, other business servic es, and personal, cultural and recreational services. 
The WTO-UNCTAD-ITC trade in services dataset starts with the year 2005.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 20 - 
 
  4.5.  However, the developing group, in particular developing Asia and the Middle East continued 
to import rising amounts of services. Developing Asian economies' share grew from 22.5% in 2012 to 23.4% in 2014, as China's services imports multiplied. The Middle East accounted for 5.6% of imports. Overall, developing economies increased their participation in world imports from 37.3% 
in 2012 to 38% in 2014.  
Table 11: Developing economies trade in comm ercial services by regions and selected 
economies, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %)  
 Exports Imports 
 Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
 2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
Developing economies  1490 30.7 30.2 4 5 1818 37.3 38.0 6 7 
Latin America 168 3.5 3.4 5 2 226 4.9 4.7 7 1 
Brazil 39 0.9 0.8 -2 5 86 1.8 1.8 7 3 
Mexico 21 0.4 0.4 25 5 32 0.6 0.7 10 8 
Developing Europe 63 1.2 1.3 8 8 32 0.6 0.7 14 4 
Turkey 50 1.0 1.0 8 7 23 0.5 0.5 16 2 
Serbia 5 0.1 0.1 14 11 4 0.1 0.1 8 8 
Africa 100 2.2 2.0 -3 6 172 3.8 3.6 1 5 
Egypt 20 0.5 0.4 -16 13 17 0.4 0.4 -5 13 
South Africa 16 0.4 0.3 -5 0 17 0.4 0.3 -5 -6 
Middle East 126 2.6 2.6 2 7 269 5.4 5.6 5 9 
Israel 35 0.7 0.7 8 3 22 0.5 0.5 -4 8 
Saudi Arabia, 
Kingdom of 12 0.2 0.2 7 3 59 1.2 1.2 4 14 
Developing Asia  1032 21.2 20.9 4 5 1119 22.5 23.4 7 8 
China 232 4.8 4.7 -4 12 382 6.6 8.0 18 15 
India 156 3.2 3.2 2 5 147 3.0 3.1 -3 17 
Singapore 140 2.8 2.8 8 2 141 3.0 3.0 10 0 
Korea, Republic of 106 2.3 2.1 0 3 114 2.5 2.4 1 4 
Hong Kong, China 106 2.2 2.1 6 1 76 1.8 1.6 -2 1 
Memorandum items                     
World  4940 100 100 5 5 4782 100 100 6 5 
Developed economies 3338 66.8 67.6 6 5 2793 59.1 58.4 5 5 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 111 2.5 2.3 10 -8 172 3.6 3.6 15 -4 
LDCs (48) 37 0.7 0.8 14 8 79 1.7 1.6 4 5 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 4.6.  At the sectoral level, developing economies' exports of other commercial services and travel recorded the fastest average annual increase (6%), while transport stagnated. On imports, travel 
was the most dynamic sector. Developing economie s' travel expenditure abroad grew by 13% on 
average per year. More modest increases were re corded for other commercial services (5%) and 
transport imports (4%).  
4.7.  Exports and imports of goods-related services declined respectively by 13% and 8% on 
annual average.
11 However, data should be interpreted with caution as most developing economies 
are not yet collecting information on these types of services. 
                                               
11 Goods-related services is a new aggregate category of services in BOP statistics including 
"manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others" and "maintenance an d repair services n.i.e". WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 21 - 
 
  Chart 14: Developing economies' trade in  commercial services by main category, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$)  
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 
4.8.  In 2014 the item "travel", which records the expenditure in goods and services by foreign 
travellers in the visited economy, accounted for 34.6% of the group's exports of commercial services.
12 Developing economies remain net exporters of travel, which represents an important 
source of revenue, in particular for the LDCs.13 However, the travel surplus which has been 
growing steadily over the years, declined sharpl y in 2014 as developing economies' payments for 
travel abroad surged.  
4.9.  Transport accounted for 20.9% of developing economies' exports. As shown in Chart 15, both 
these shares are substantially higher than in de veloped economies (respectively, 21% for travel 
and 18% for transport). In 2014, "other business services" comprised 21.7% of total services 
exports, up from 20.9% in 2012. This category includes different types of services, such as 
research and development services, professional an d management consulting services as well as 
technical, trade-related, and other business servic es. Their contribution to developing economies' 
total commercial services exports is close to th at of the developed group. Telecommunications, 
computer and information services represented 8.7% of developing economies' exports. 
Developing economies' participation continued to lag behind in higher-skilled services such as 
charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e., insurance and pension services and financial services.   
                                               
12 In BOP Statistics, "travel" covers all goods and services acquired by international travellers in the host 
economy, for their own use or to give away, such as ac commodation, food, souvenirs, visits to museums, local 
transportation, etc. It excludes transportation to the host country. 
13 See Market Access for Products and Services of  E x p o r t  I n t e r e s t  t o  L e ast Developed Countries,  
WT/COMTD/LDC/W/60. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 22 - 
 
  Chart 15: Structure of developing and de veloped economies' exports of commercial 
services, 2014 
(%) 
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 
4.1  Transport 
4.10.  In 2014, developing economies' transport exports stood at US$312 billion, the same level as 
in 2012 after plunging by 2% in 2013. Export stag nation reflected a context of weak flows in 
merchandise trade and falling oil prices. For the first time, developed economies' export growth 
outpaced the developing group. As a result, de veloping economies' share of global transport 
exports declined from 34.1% in 2012 to 32.7% in 2014. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 23 - 
 
   
Chart 16: Developing economie s' exports of transport services, merchandise exports and 
crude oil price, 2005-2014 
(Index 2005=100)  
 
Source: WTO estimates, WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates (for transport) and IMF.  
 Crude oil price is the simple average of three sp ot prices; Dated Brent, West Texas Intermediate, 
and the Dubai Fateh. 
 
4.11.  In developing Asia, which accounts for two-thirds of developing economies' transport 
receipts, exports decreased by 1% on average per year. In particular, in the Republic of Korea exports dropped by 8%, and in China and Hong Kong, China the decline was by 1%. In Singapore, exports stagnated. The declines were due to a contraction of maritime freight transport.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 24 - 
 
  Table 12: Developing economies trade in tr ansport by region and selected economy, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Imports 
 Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
 2014 12 14 13 14 2014 10 14 13 14 
Developing economies  312 34.1 32.7 -2 2 625 50.0 51.0 3 6 
Latin America 30 3.3 3.2 4 -3 69 5.8 5.6 4 -2 
Brazil 6 0.6 0.6 0 7 15 1.2 1.2 7 -2 
Mexico 1 0.1 0.1 -17 8 15 1.0 1.2 5 16 
Developing Europe 17 1.6 1.8 6 8 13 1.0 1.0 10 4 
Turkey 14 1.4 1.5 4 9 10 0.8 0.8 10 3 
Africa 29 3.0 3.1 2 4 71 5.8 5.8 1 5 
Egypt 10 1.0 1.0 6 4 8 0.7 0.7 -6 15 
Morocco 3 0.3 0.3 -16 37 4 0.3 0.3 -13 24 
Middle East 30 3.3 3.2 -10 11 113 9.0 9.3 5 5 
United Arab Emirates 6 0.5 0.6 14 17 46 3.5 3.7 7 5 
Saudi Arabia, 
Kingdom of 3 0.2 0.3 17 3 20 1.5 1.6 8 4 
Developing Asia  205 22.9 21.5 -3 1 359 28.4 29.3 2 8 
China 38 4.2 4.0 -3 2 96 7.4 7.8 10 2 
India 19 1.9 2.0 -3 10 77 5.2 6.3 -6 35 
Singapore 45 4.9 4.7 0 0 39 3.2 3.2 4 4 
Korea, Republic of 35 4.5 3.7 -9 -6 32 2.7 2.6 -3 4 
Hong Kong, China 32 3.5 3.3 -2 1 18 1.6 1.5 -1 2 
Memorandum items                     
World  955 100 100 2 2 1225 100 100 3 3 
Developed economies 602 61.5 63.0 4 3 572 47.4 46.7 3 2 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 41 4.3 4.3 7 -3 28 2.6 2.3 4 -12 
LDCs (48) 8 0.7 0.8 16 8 35 2.6 2.9 9 6 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 4.12.  Container port throughput statistics confirm the slowdown. Between 2012 and 2014, 
container port activity growth decelerated considerably in developing Asia, but also in other 
developing regions. In China, the leading global supplier, container port throughput growth stood at 6%, less than half the growth recorded betw een 2009 and 2011. A similar pattern was observed 
in Singapore; Hong Kong, China; and the Republic of Korea.   WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 25 - 
 
  Chart 17: Container port throughput in sele cted Developing Asian economies, 2009-2014 
(Annual % change) 
 
Source: UNCTAD. 
 
4.13.  Despite declines recorded by the largest transport traders, in the same region, several economies' transport exports expanded much mo re rapidly than the world average such as 
Cambodia (+12%), Maldives (+22%), Sri Lanka (+8%) and Viet Nam (+6%). In these countries, 
port activity remained sustained. 
4.14.  Between 2012 and 2014, Middle East transport exports stagnated, mainly due to the 
collapse in the receipts of the State of Kuwai t and the Lebanese Republic (-69% and-65%, 
respectively). However, the main exporters of the region, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, 
continued to record double digit growth.  
4.15.  Transport exports stagnated also in Latin Am erica. Although Brazil's and Panama's transport 
receipts expanded by 4% and 8%, respectively, ex ports fell significantly elsewhere in the region 
such as in Chile (-12%), Mexico (-5%), Costa Rica (-17%), and the Bolivarian Republic of 
Venezuela (-11%). However, the ongoing enlargement of the Panama Canal - which is intended to 
double its capacity by 2016 by creating a new lane  of traffic and allowing more and larger cargo 
ships - is expected to reduce shipping times, and increase seaborne trade in the region.  
4.16.  Africa's transport exports grew by 3%, re cording the second most rapid growth rate among 
the developing group. Egypt, which alone accounts for one third of the region's transport exports, 
saw 5% average annual growth. The recent expansion of the Suez Canal, which connects the 
Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, providing the shortest link between Asia and Europe, is likely to boost maritime traffic and transport exports by the country in the coming years.  
4.17.  Transport exports were less dynamic in Sub-Saharan African countries. Between 2012 and 
2014, South Africa's exports contracted by 2% while Kenya recorded only a 1% rise. By contrast, Ethiopia's transports receipts were  up by 13%, reflecting swift growth of the air transport sector.  
4.18.  Developing Europe's transport sector was not affected by the declines recorded by other 
developing regions. Between 2012 and 2014, grow th was sustained in all economies, from 
Turkey (+6%) to Serbia and Albania (+12%). The re gion recorded the most rapid period growth in 
both transport exports (8%) and imports (7%), la rgely due to Turkey's thriving air transport 
sector.  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 26 - 
 
  4.19.  Developing economies' transport services expanded on average more rapidly on the import 
side (4%). In 2012, the developing economies became the largest importers of transportation services (51% of world imports). Since 2012, Chin a became the leading transport importer in the 
world, overtaking the US. In 2014, India ranked as the 3
rd global transport importer, overtaking 
Germany. 
Chart 18: Developing economies' trade in tr ansportation services by region, 2012-2014 
and 2014 
(Annual % change) 
 
Source:  WTO-UNCTAD -ITC estimates. 
 
4.2  Travel 
4.20.  Developing economies' travel exports rose  to US$515 billion in 2014 up by 6% on annual 
average since 2012. Similar to the transport sector , travel export growth decelerated compared to 
recent post-crisis years.  
4.21.  According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of 
international tourist arrivals to developing economies rose to 442 million in 2014 up from 408 million in 2012.
14 More than half of international tourists reached developing Asian economies. 
China received some 56 million internatio nal tourist arrivals in 2014, ranking 4th in the world.  
4.22.  In 2014, around 42% of world receipts of travel, whether for personal or for business 
purposes, accrued to the developing economies. It should be noted that in 2005 their share was at 29%. Travel receipts represent an important source of revenue for developing economies. 
International travellers' expenditure directly enters the tourism value chain, affecting industries 
such as accommodation, food and beverages, transp ort, retail, recreation and cultural activities, 
etc. Tourism indirectly benefits the domestic ec onomy, contributing to the development of other 
sectors such as agriculture (e.g., food supply to  hotel establishments), construction (building 
infrastructure), communications, utilities (e.g., supply of electricity and water to hotels), and conference and events management.  
                                               
14 Aggregates for the developing economies and for the developing regions were compiled by the WTO 
Secretariat on the basis of available UNWTO data (UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2015). WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 27 - 
 
  Chart 19: Developing economies' travel expo rts and international tourist arrivals by 
region, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and million) 
 
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates and WTO a ggregations on the basis of UNWTO data. 
 
Table 13: Developing economies trade in tr avel by region and selected economy, 2012-
2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Imports 
 Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
 2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
Developing economies  515 41.0 41.6 8 5 492 38.2 42.2 12 15 
Latin America 71 5.7 5.8 5 8 60 5.3 5.2 10 4 
Brazil 7 0.6 0.6 1 2 26 2.2 2.2 12 2 
Mexico 16 1.1 1.3 9 17 10 0.8 0.8 8 6 
Developing Europe 35 2.7 2.8 10 6 8 0.7 0.7 16 6 
Turkey 30 2.3 2.4 10 6 5 0.4 0.4 17 5 
Africa 43 3.9 3.4 -8 6 26 2.6 2.2 -1 1 
South Africa 9 0.9 0.8 -8 1 3 0.4 0.3 -16 -8 
Egypt 7 0.9 0.6 -39 19 3 0.3 0.3 15 4 
Middle East 52 4.1 4.2 4 10 87 6.8 7.5 6 20 
Saudi Arabia 8 0.7 0.7 3 8 24 1.7 2.1 4 37 
United Arab Emirates 14 1.0 1.1 13 13 18 1.5 1.5 7 10 
Developing Asia  314 24.6 25.3 11 4 310 22.9 26.6 15 18 
China 57 4.5 4.6 3 10 165 10.2 14.1 26 28 
Hong Kong, China 38 3.0 3.1 18 -1 22 2.0 1.9 6 4 
Macao, China 51 4.0 4.1 18 -2 2 0.2 0.2 8 7 
Thailand 38 3.1 3.1 23 -8 7 0.6 0.6 4 7 
Singapore 19 1.7 1.5 2 -1 24 2.3 2.1 5 -1 
Memorandum items           
World  1240 100 100 7 4 1166 100 100 8 8 
Developed economies 702 56.8 56.6 7 4 609 56.2 52.2 4 4 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 23 2.1 1.8 9 -13 65 5.5 5.6 22 -5 
LDCs (48) 18 1.3 1.4 15 7 8 0.7 0.7 2 10 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 
4.23.   Developing economies' travel expenditure reached US$492 billion in 2014, growing by 13% 
on average per year between 2012 and 2014. Overal l, compared to 2012, the developing group 
gained four percentage points in share in world travel imports.  
4.24.  After having recorded double-digit growth rates over several years, developing Asia saw its 
travel exports slow. This was due mainly to Macao, China, which for the first time, in 2014, 
recorded negative growth (-2%). The economy ranks as the 5th global travel exporter and over 
recent years became an attractive destination in the region for gaming. Following remarkable WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 28 - 
 
  growth since 2010, Thailand's travel receipts drop ped by -8% in 2014 due to political unrest at the 
beginning of the year.  
4.25.  However, international tourism further expanded or emerged in other economies in the 
region such as Indonesia (11% on annual average), Maldives (16%), and Bhutan (21%). Tourism 
boomed in Sri Lanka, where travel exports were  up by 53% on average per year. In 2014, the 
sector became Sri Lanka's third source of fore ign exchange, and employment generated in the 
tourism sector both directly and indirectly increased by 11%.15 Thus, developing Asian economies 
enlarged their share of global travel exports from 24.6% in 2012 to 25.3% in 2014.  
4.26.  Developing Asia's participation in world tourism is rising also as consumer. Boosted, in 
particular, by higher disposable income, an appreciating currency and improved travel facilitation, China's payments for international travel rose by 27% between 2012 and 2014. Since 2012, China 
became the world's leading travel spender, an d in 2014 accounted alone for over 14% of world 
travel imports. Travel expenditure continued to grow fast on annual average in Sri Lanka (33%), the Philippines (23%), Chinese Taipei (15%) and Mongolia (18%).  
4.27.  Following three difficult years, international tourism fully rebounded in the Middle East and 
in 2014 the region recorded the most rapid trav el export growth among developing economies 
(10%). The Middle East attracted high inflows of international travellers, in particular to the 
United Arab Emirates. The country, which is the leading exporter in the region, recorded a 13% 
average growth per year, with a 20% peak in 2 014. Rapid growth was also recorded in Qatar 
(27%) as international tourist arrivals multiplied. Travel exports recovered also in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (5%). The economy, which is the to p travel spender in the region, saw its travel 
expenditure rebound too (19%). Overall, between 2012 and 2014, travel imports expanded by 
13% in the Middle East. 
4.28.  Latin America recorded an encouraging performance. Travel exports receipts rose by 6% on 
annual average, mainly due to Mexico's exports (13%). The country confirmed its place as the 
largest travel exporter in the region and, foll owing a surge in arrivals in 2014, ranked as the 
10
th world tourism destination. Between 2012 and 2014, in Central American economies, receipts 
expanded faster (9%) than elsewhere across the developing group, thanks to solid growth by 
El Salvador (21%) Belize (13%) and Costa Rica (11%). In the Caribbean, travel receipts growth averaged 5%, with many economies recording remarkable increases in the number of tourist arrivals.  
4.29.  By contrast, in South American economies,  which overall account for more than a third of 
the region's travel receipts, exports grew only  by 2%, with Argentina and Uruguay recording 
negative growth and Brazil's exports up by only 1%. Relative to other developing regions, travel 
imports slowed in Latin America - despite the presence of Brazil, which is the 10
th top global 
spender in international travel, accounting for more than 40% of Latin America's total travel expenditure. Following a 12% import rise in 2013, and strong growth over recent years, Brazil's 
payments for international tourism increased marginally in 2014, as travelling abroad became 
more expensive due to the depreciation of the national currency.  
4.30.  Africa continued to suffer the aftermaths of the Arab Spring. Between 2012 and 2014, travel 
exports contracted by 1% in the region as Northern African economies saw a 6% decline in travel 
receipts. In 2013, travel exports dropped by 39% in  Egypt and by 2% in Tunisia as the number of 
international travellers plunged. However, in bo th economies, travel exports recovered in 2014. 
Growth was sluggish also in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, receipts fell by 3% as 
international tourist arrivals growth remained flat. On the imports side, Africa's payments for 
travelling abroad stagnated. In Nigeria, the larg est importer of the region, the decrease was by 
8% on average per year, and in South Africa by 12%.  
4.31.  Developing Europe recorded the fastest average annual growth among the developing group 
(8%) as rising international tourist arrivals to Turkey and Serbia boosted receipts (8% and 11%, respectively). Travel imports fully recovered following the generalized declines in the region recorded in the 2010-2012 period. Developing Europe's payments for travel abroad also expanded 
rapidly (11%), with Bosnia and Herzegovina as the only exception. 
                                               
15 Sri Lanka Tourism Develo pment Authority, Annual St atistical Report 2014. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 29 - 
 
  Chart 20: Developing economies' travel exports and imports by region, 2012-2014 and 
2014 
(Annual % change)  
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 4.3  Other commercial services  and goods-related services 
4.32.  In the period 2012-2014, developing economies' exports of "other commercial services" 
rose by 6% on annual average increasing to US$618 billion, mirroring developed economies' 
growth patterns.
16 Over the years, developing economies have emerged as suppliers of "other 
commercial services", although developed economies largely remain the main exporters.  
4.33.  In 2014, around 24% of world exports of "other commercial services" originated from 
developing economies, a share gradually increasing since 2005 (17.8%). However, the sluggish global economic context following the economic cr isis hampered trade growth even for the most 
dynamic category of services. As a result, in 2014 the developing economies' participation in world 
exports of "other commercial services" matched the same levels of 2012.   
                                               
16 According to the new BPM6 services classification , the aggregate "other commercial services" covers 
construction, insurance and pension services, financial services, telecommunications, computer and information 
services, charges for the use of intellectual property, n. i.e., other business services, and personal, cultural and 
recreational services. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 30 - 
 
  Chart 21: Developing economies' exports and imports of other commercial services by 
region, 2012-2014 and 2014 
(Annual % change)  
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 4.34.  In 2014, developing economies' payments for other commercial services reached US$673 billion, expanding only by 3%, compared to  over 6% recorded by the developed group. 
Therefore, developing economies' participation in world imports, on a constant rise over recent 
years, contracted for the first time, decreasing to 29.4% in 2014 from 29.7% in 2012.  
4.35.  Recording a solid 10% average annual grow th on both exports and imports between 2012 
and 2014, and 13% export growth in 2014, deve loping Europe ranked as the fastest growing 
region. In 2014, Africa's demand for other commercial services strengthened and the region 
recorded the most rapid growth of imports among developing regions.  
Table 14: Developing economies trade in ot her commercial services by region and 
selected economy, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Exports Imports 
 Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change Value Share in 
world Annual % 
change 
 2014 12 14 13 14 2014 12 14 13 14 
Developing economies  618 23.9 23.9 7 6 673 29.7 29.4 7 3 
Latin America 62 2.7 2.4 5 -2 96 4.3 4.2 8 1 
Brazil 26 1.1 1.0 -3 3 45 2.0 2.0 4 5 
Argentina 6 0.3 0.2 -1 -15 7 0.3 0.3 5 -5 
Developing Europe 10 0.3 0.4 7 13 11 0.4 0.5 19 2 
Turkey 6 0.2 0.2 6 14 7 0.3 0.3 24 -3 
Africa 26 1.1 1.0 0 6 74 3.4 3.2 1 7 
South Africa 4 0.2 0.2 -2 1 6 0.3 0.3 2 -7 
Egypt 3 0.1 0.1 -4 35 6 0.3 0.2 -12 17 
Middle East 43 1.7 1.7 9 1 68 3.0 3.0 5 6 
Israel 25 0.9 1.0 11 4 11 0.5 0.5 -10 14 
Saudi Arabia,  
Kingdom of 1 0.0 0.0 14 -31 15 0.7 0.7 -1 1 
Developing Asia  477 18.1 18.4 7 8 424 18.6 18.5 9 3 
China 114 3.8 4.4 8 23 120 4.5 5.2 15 13 
India 117 4.8 4.5 3 4 55 2.7 2.4 1 -2 
Japan 68 2.5 2.6 15 5 77 3.4 3.4 14 -2 
Singapore 49 1.9 1.9 6 3 50 2.3 2.2 4 4 
Korea, Republic of 31 1.2 1.2 6 9 20 1.0 0.9 -8 5 
Memorandum items                     
World  2586 100 100 6 6 2289 100 100 6 5 
Developed economies 1926 74.4 74.5 6 7 1539 67.0 67.3 6 6 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 42 1.7 1.6 17 -8 77 3.3 3.3 13 -1 
LDCs (48) 11 0.4 0.4 9 9 35 1.7 1.5 0 3 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 31 - 
 
  4.36.  Developing economies' participation in global exports of other commercial services varies 
considerably by type of service. In 2014, the larg est shares were recorded in construction (44%), 
other business services (29%), and telecommunications, computer and information services (28.1%), while they averaged 20% in pers onal, cultural and recreational services, and in 
insurance and pension services. The lowest contributions were found in financial services (15.1%) 
and charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. (4.5%), dominated by developed economies exports. The latter points to the persistent difficulties, in particular in terms of human skills and 
financial resources, for the developing economies to penetrate the highest segments of services 
trade.  
Chart 22: Exports of commercial services by  sector and economic groupings, 2014  
(%) 
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 
4.37.  Thus, it is encouraging that developing economies' exports growth was sustained in 
particular in insurance and pension services and charges for the use of intellectual property 
n.i.e. (both at 10%), as well financial services (8%). However, data should be taken with caution 
since most countries are still implementing the new international recommendations for collection.17  
                                               
17 Data quality issues continue to affect imports st atistics of "other commercial services". Thus, at 
present, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of im ports of other commercial se rvices by subsector and by 
geographical region/economic grouping. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 32 - 
 
  Chart 23: Developing economies' exports of  other commercial services by subsector, 
2012-2014 and 2014 
(Annual % change) 
 
Source: WTO-UNCTAD-ITC estimates. 
 4.38.  Developing economies' contribution to world construction exports has risen steadily over 
recent years. However, exports remain very concentrated. The Republic of Korea and China 
account for more than two-thirds of construction exported by the whole developing group. In 2014, the two economies ranked as the first and second leading constructors, with a share in 
global exports of 30.2% on a BOP basis, a decrea se from 32.4% in 2012.  This was mainly due to 
declining exports by the Republic of Korea (-7% on annual average).  
4.39.  For both the Republic of Korea and China,  construction exports are essentially South-South 
trade. The Republic of Korea is engaged in cons truction projects especially in the Middle East 
(largely in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq) and Asia.
18 Over 
recent years, the country has specialized in particular in building refinery and petrochemical plants as well as power plants. China, whose exports rebounded in 2014 after dropping sharply in 2012 
and 2013, is involved in various infrastructural building projects in several African countries and 
planning to expand to South America. Over the 2012-2014 period, other economies recorded rising construction exports such as India (32%), Thailand (18%), and Iran (11%), while marked 
contractions were observed in Malaysia (-17%), Indonesia (-9%), Uganda (-5%), and 
Turkey (-3%).  
4.40.  Developing economies play an important role in ICT services, with their input to world 
exports of telecommunications, computer and information services estimated at 28.1% in 2014. 
Developing Asia is the main driver of export gr owth. Between 2012 and 2014, the region expanded 
by 9% on annual average while other developing regions slowed or even stagnated. Computer 
services represent the bulk of ICT exports (70-75 % of the aggregate). They are buoyant even in a 
sluggish economic environment - due to a regula r global demand for cost-efficient technologies, 
the development of innovative software in various sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, finance, insurance, healthcare, education, as well as the pressing need to address IT security 
concerns. In 2014, India's computer services ex ports rose by 5%, reaching US$53.3 billion. The 
country leads the developing group and ranks seco nd as a global exporter. India is a preeminent 
destination for offshoring IT services, with firms expanding their core services to include product 
                                               
18 International Contractors Association of Korea, http://eng.icak.or.kr/   WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 33 - 
 
  development, research and development (R&D) and other niche services. India's main partners 
continued to be the US and Canada, although exports to European countries were on the rise.19  
4.41.  An emerging feature in computer services trade is freelance outsourcing, with freelance 
professionals offering various services online ranging from simple data entry to application 
development and project management. This prov ides the possibility for a large number of 
specialists in countries in which traditional IT outsourcing remains relatively small to enter the global services value chains. Bangladesh has recently emerged as an important hub for freelance 
work via online marketplaces. The country's expo rts multiplied since 2010 and rose by 23% in 
2013. Pakistan recorded a 19% period growth, al so thanks to self-employed IT freelancers. 
4.42.  Even if on a much smaller scale, computer services exports continued to record remarkable 
period growth in the Republic of Korea (53%) and the Philippines (12%), but also in other 
developing economies such as Costa Rica (16% ) and Brazil (29%). With exports more than 
doubling in 2014, Brazil became the first exporter of computer services in Latin America, overtaking Costa Rica.  
4.43.  Regrettably, infrastructural constraints, as well as financial issues, act as a barrier for Africa, 
which remains marginalized in IT services trade. The region's overall exports of telecommunications, computer and information servic es represented only 1.3% of world exports in 
2014. Despite the efforts by many countries in the region which recorded improvements, the 
region has the lowest penetration rates for Internet users (16.4%) and fixed broadband subscriptions in the world (1 person out of 100 inhabitants).
20  
4.44.  The Middle East continued to host the ma in telecommunications services exporter among 
developing economies. With over US$3 billion worth of exports in 2014, the State of Kuwait 
confirmed its ranking as the third leading telecommunications services exporter in the world.  
4.45.  Rising by 6% between 20 12 and 2014 on annual average, developing economies' exports of 
other business services saw relatively weak growth compared to other subsectors of other 
commercial services and previous years. In 2014, developing economies contributed to 29% of global exports of other business services.
21 Developing Asia continued to play the main role 
(22.4%), with India's and China's exports alone accounting for 10.4% of world exports. The two 
economies ranked, respectively, first and second as preferred services offshoring locations.22 
India's offer to foreign clients included a wide range of services such as finance and accounting, auditing, book keeping and tax consulting services , customer services, medical transcriptions, as 
well as various types of engineering services (embedded solutions, product design, industrial 
automation and enterprise asset management).
23 Overall, for developing Asian economies, exports 
of other business services represent over 24% of their total commercial services receipts, a 
slightly higher share than in the developed group.  
4.46.  Other economies play a key role in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), such as the 
Philippines, which specialized in call-centres but also expanded into higher value-added services. 
The Philippines' exports of other business services were up by 12% over the period, and positive 
results were also posted by Thailand (10%) and the Republic of Korea (13%), but exports dropped 
in Malaysia and Indonesia. Sustained growth was recorded by Israel (9%), the 4th global leading 
exporter of R&D services, while in Brazil export s slowed. In Morocco, the main exporter of other 
business services in Africa, receipts recovered thanks to a 3% rise in services offshored to the 
country, largely call centres.24 
4.47.  Developing economies' exports of pers onal, cultural and recreational services saw 
participation more evenly spread across developing regions. Although, according to present 
                                               
19 Reserve Bank of India, Survey on Computer Soft ware and Information Tec hnology Enabled Services 
Exports: 2013-2014, March 2015. 
20 Aggregates for Africa were compiled by the WT O Secretariat on the basis of ITU data (ITU free 
statistics 2015). 
21 The aggregate "other business services" includes R&D services, professional and management 
consulting services, and technical trad e-related and other business services. 
22 The 2014 A.T. Kearney, Global Services Location Index. 
23 Reserve Bank of India, "Survey on Computer Soft ware and Information Technology Enabled Services 
Exports: 2013-2014", March 2015. 
24 Morocco Office des Changes "Evolution du secteur de l'Offshoring 2013-2015". WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 34 - 
 
  estimates, this category of services - which also includes artistic services - represented only 1% of 
world exports of commercial services in 2014, it can be an important source of revenue and can create job opportunities in developing economies. Personal, cultural and recreational services were 
the fastest growing service sector in developing economies in the period 2012-2014 (15%), 
expanding by 23% in 2014. In Latin America, exports rose by 36% on annual average and in 
developing Europe by 19%. Developing Asia and the Middle East recorded 11% growth. 
4.48.  Over the period, developing economies' financial services exports remained concentrated in 
a handful of exporters, largely in developing Asia. In 2014, China; Hong Kong, China; India; and 
Singapore totalled overall around 76% of developing economies' financial services exports. All leading exporters showed robust growth, with China's exports up by 55% on annual average 
between 2012 and 2014, followed by Singapore (11%). However, the Middle East recorded the 
most rapid period growth (12%) following a surge in exports by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
(40%), the Lebanese Republic (10%) and the State of Kuwait (28%). In developing Europe, Turkey's exports were up by 24%. By contrast, in Latin America, Brazil's financial services receipts 
plunged by 60% in 2014.  
4.49.  In 2014, only 19.3% of insurance and pens ion services exported to the world originated 
from developing economies. However, the develo ping group showed considerable dynamism with 
exports growing on annual average by 10%, twice as fast as in the developed economies. In 
developing Asia, China, the main exporter, recorded 17% period growth and Hong Kong, China a 12% rise. In Latin America, Mexico's exports grew by 33%, in Argentina by 59% and in Honduras by 53%. Positive developments were also observed  in developing Europe, where Turkey's exports 
were up by 16% and in Serbia by 55%. In contra st, Africa's exports were down by 7% on annual 
average due to South Africa's decreasing exports (-10%).   
4.50.  The overall contribution of the developing  economies to world receipts of charges for the 
use of intellectual property n.i.e. remained negligible, with a 4.5% share in 2014, even though the 
sector recorded double digit period growth. Exports by the developing group essentially reflect the predominant role played by developing Asia, in particular by China, the Republic of Korea, 
Singapore and Chinese Taipei, accounting overall for around 76% of total receipts in 2014.  
4.51.  As mentioned earlier in the paper, goods-related services is a new aggregation of services in 
BOP statistics, which includes "manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others" and "maintenance and repair services n.i.e.". The firs t category covers essentially manufacturing on a 
contract basis including activities such as processi ng, assembly, labelling, packing, etc. The second 
comprises maintenance and repair work by residents of an economy on goods that are owned by non-residents and vice versa. Many developing economies are currently in the process of collecting 
data for these new services arising from globalization and the fragmentation of the production 
process across different economies.  
4.52.  The Secretariat feels that the size of this  new sector is at present underestimated for the 
developing group, thus the analysis of their trade flows is preliminary. According to estimates, the 
input of developing economies to world exports of goods-related services totalled 28.2% in 2014, 
increasing by a mere 1%. China was the main exporter with a share in global exports at 14.5% and accounting for half of the developing group' s exports. The country is primarily engaged in 
manufacturing services on a contract basis, while exports by Singapore, which ranked second 
among developing economies, related exclusively to maintenance and repair services n.i.e. Goods-related exports are important also for economies in other regions such as Costa Rica, 
El Salvador and Nicaragua, the leading exporter in Latin America, as well as Morocco in Africa, and 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and The former Yugoslav  Republic of Macedonia in developing Europe. 
According to available data, exports of goods-rela ted services recorded negative growth in many 
exporting economies, confirming the slowdown of global trade.   
4.4  Modes of supply 4.53.  Ideally, each BOP services transaction shou ld be allocated to each individual mode of 
service supply as defined in the GATS. However, data compilers are not able to make this 
allocation in the short term. Compiling services  statistics by GATS modes of supply requires 
adjusting specific surveys destined primarily to fi rms engaged in services transactions. At present, WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 35 - 
 
  only a few developing economies have started to explore this issue, by focusing only on key export 
sectors (i.e., IT-enabled services, banking services, etc.).  
4.54.  The Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services proposes a simplified approach 
on the allocation of services domains to GATS  modes of supply. This approach should be 
considered as a first step in the estimation pr ocess. According to the simplified approach, BOP 
services transactions will be allocated to the predominant mode(s) of supply, while the indicator 
"sales" in FATS will be assigned only to GATS mode 3 (commercial presence).25 Unfortunately, only 
a few developing economies compile FATS, thus, at present it is not possible to provide an 
estimate of developing economies' exports through mode 3. The charts below are built only on the basis of BOP trade in services statistics.  
Chart 24: Developing economies - estimate d exports of commercial services by 
developing region and mode of supply (BOP basis), 2014 
(%) 
 
 
 
 
 
                                               
25 FATS are a new statistical domain which aim at measuring the activities of foreign-controlled foreign 
affiliates established worldwide. FATS define control as majority ownership,  i.e. more than 50% of the voting 
power at each stage of the chain of ownership. FATS cover a broad range of business variables including sales 
(turnover) and/or output, employment, value added, expo rts and imports of goods and services and number of 
enterprises. From the perspective of the GATS "sales" (turnover) is the most important variable. It measures 
foreign affiliates' gross operating revenu es, less rebates, discounts and returns. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 36 - 
 
  
 
Note: These charts exclude FATS sales (Mode 3). 
Source: WTO estimates. 
 
4.55.  According to the results of the simplified approach for 2014, mode 2 (consumption abroad) is dominant in developing economies, accounting for 41% of exports. However, its relative 
importance varied significantly across developing regions, ranging from 37% in developing Asia to 
61% in developing Europe. This is due to the im portance of travel exports, of supporting and 
auxiliary transport services (such as loading and unloading of containers in ports and airports, 
storage and warehousing, etc.) and of the new category of goods-related services, which are 
supplied predominantly on a consumption abroad basis. 
4.56.  At the group level, mode 1 (cross-border supply) played a key role, accounting for more 
than a quarter of developing economies' total commercial services exports. Mode 1 exports include 
transport (excluding supporting, auxiliary transp ort, and other transport services for available 
economies), telecommunications services, insuranc e and pension services, financial services and 
charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. At the individual region level, the highest share of 
mode 1 was found in the Middle East with 33% and the lowest in Latin America (19%). 
4.57.  Exports through modes 1 and 4 combined (cross-border supply and presence of natural 
persons) made up an estimated 30% of total develo ping economies' exports. This category covers 
computer and information services, other business services, and personal, cultural and recreational 
services, which are services for which a dominant mode of supply cannot be determined. With a 34% share, developing Asia held the largest share of modes 1 and 4 combined due to the 
importance in particular for the region of computer  services, as well as business, professional and 
technical services. In contrast, this mode of service supply accounted for only 15% and 6% in Africa and developing Europe respectively.  
4.58.  Modes 3 + 4 cover only construction in BOP statistics, and represented 3% in developing 
economies' commercial services exports in 2014. Modes 3 + 4 formed 4% of developing Asia's 
exports of commercial services, due to the presence  of the two leading global constructors in the 
region. 
5  THE IMPORTANCE OF GVCS FOR DEVELOPING ECONOMIES EVIDENCED THROUGH THE 
TRADE IN VALUE ADDED APPROACH 
5.1.  Measuring trade related to global production requires complementing traditional trade 
statistics with information on the domestic and foreign origin of inputs. The OECD-WTO project on 
estimating trade in value added, carried out in close cooperation with other national and international organizations, has led to a first interactive "official statistics" database.
26 Indicators 
included in the TiVA database are based on the OECD inter-country input-output (ICIO) tables that 
cover both goods and services classified by partne r and sector. TiVA currently provides free access 
                                               
26 See http://stats.oecd.org/Index.as px?DataSetCode=TIVA_OECD_WTO  or http://www.wto.org/miwi . WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 37 - 
 
  to indicators for 61 economies and 34 industries. Data are available for three historical 
benchmarks for 1995, 2000 and 2005 and continuous data for the period 2008-2011.27 
5.2.  The decomposition of gross exports into domestic and foreign value added components 
allows an estimation of trade taking place within GVCs. In this context, trade refers to the 
exchange of intermediate goods and services, or inputs, within vertical production chains. The GVC 
participation index, presented in Table 15 for developing economies, illustrates this "Trade in Tasks" phenomenon and the multiple value adde d exchanges taking place within international 
production. GVC participation comprises the backward and forward linkages of a country with its 
foreign partners.
28  
5.3.  Backward participation in GVCs refers to the foreign value added content of exports imported 
(referred to as vertical specialization). This concept corresponds to the value added imported to 
produce intermediate or final goods and services for export. This is the "Buyer" perspective or 
sourcing side in GVCs, where a country imports intermediates to produce exports. Forward participation to GVCs captures the domestic value added exported, contained in inputs sent to 
third countries either for their final consumption or for further processing. This is the 
"seller-related" measure or supply side in the GVC participation index.  
Table 15: GVC participation index: the import ance of GVCs in developing economies' 
exports, 1995-2011 
(% of total gross exports and annual % change)  
 1995 2000 2005 
GVC participation index, of which : 36.8 48.7 13.1 
Domestic valued added inputs exported to GVCs  
(Forward linkages) 15.5 23.2 14.0 
Value added inputs imported from GVCs to produce exports  
(Backward linkages) 21.3 25.5 12.4 
Note: The developing economies' group includes only the 20 developing economies available in the ICIO 
table. 
Source: OECD-WTO TiVA database. 
 
5.4.  The overall GVC participation of developing economies increased significantly since 1995. In 
2011, the level of domestic and foreign inputs th ey exchanged through international production 
networks represented nearly half of their exports (48.7%). GVC participation grew more than gross exports during the period 1995-2011, with a yearly average of 13.1 % against 11.1%, which denotes the vitality of developing economies in international production. Forward linkages were the 
most decisive determinant in the rise of GVC participation for developing economies that export 
more and more of their domestic value added through GVCs.  
 
                                               
27 Due to the assumptions behind the construction of IC IO tables and the lack of accurate data in some 
areas (e.g. bilateral trade in services), the TiVA data ar e estimates rather than actual measures of the value 
added exchanged ac ross countries. 
28 The 24 developing economies available in the OECD ICIO tables and TiVA database: Argentina; Brazil; 
Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Hong Kong ,China; India; Indonesia; 
Israel; Korea, Republic of; Malaysia; Mexico; Philippine s; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; South Africa; 
Chinese Taipei; Thailand; Tunisia; Turkey; and Viet Nam. 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 38 - 
 
  Chart 25: GVC participation index - Backward  and forward linkages in developing Asia, 
2011 
(% share of total exports) 
 
 
Source: OECD-WTO TiVA database. 
 5.5.  The GVC participation index highlights useful elements on the implication, role and position of 
economies within GVCs. For example, Chart 25 illustrates the leading position of the NICs (6) 
economies in GVCS, confirming the position of 'Factory Asia' as a major actor in world production chains. On average, 60% of their exports took pl ace within production networks in 2011. Although 
backward linkages to GVCs are still largely predominant, the NICs (6) export more and more 
domestic value added, mainly in the form of manufactured intermediate goods and services, to 
their GVCs' partners like China and the Associatio n of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Their 
forward participation to GVCs rose on av erage by 10% between 1995 and 2011, which 
demonstrates their gradual upgrade in the chai n and the use of more and more sophisticated 
production processes.  
5.6.  As regards India and Viet Nam, they have experienced the greatest growth in GVC 
participation among the developing economies available in the TiVA database. Their commercial 
exchanges within GVCs have increased by mo re than 20% between 1995 and 2011. Generally 
speaking, the engagement of Asian developing economies in GVCs has acted as a catalyst for their economic development including that of their domestic markets. 
 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 39 - 
 
  Chart 26: GVC participation index - Backwa rd and forward linkages in Latin America, 
2011 
(% share of total exports) 
 
Source: OECD-WTO TiVA database. 
 
5.7.  As shown in Chart 26, Latin American economies are significantly involved in international 
production networks. Their GVC participation grew on average by 12% between 1995 and 2011, 
close to the evolution observed for their Asian counterpart.  
5.8.  The participation of Chile in GVCs, the highest amidst TiVA Latin American economies, is 
mainly driven by downstream links and the export of natural resources to its economic partners. A similar predominance of forward GVC linkages can be observed for Colombia that is principally an exporter of primary products. In contrast, the contributions of Costa Rica and Mexico to GVCs' 
t r a d e  r e l y  m o s t l y  o n  t h e  i m p o r t  o f  i n p u t s  t h a t  t h e y  f u r t h e r  p r o c e s s ,  a s s e m b l e  a n d  e m b e d  i n t o  
intermediate or final products to be exported. Their respective rates of backward participation 
were estimated at 27.8% and 31.7% of gross exports for 2011. Mexico intervenes especially 
within the electrical and transport equipment in dustries by importing intermediates from North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners into processing zones for assembling activities.  
5.9.  As for Brazil and Argentina, their integration into GVCs relies mainly on forward linkages and 
the related exports of domestically produced intermediates through GVCs. Brazil's forward GVC 
participation, estimated at 24.6% of gross exports in 2011, is obviously linked to its large exports of natural resources, from the agriculture and mining industries, but also to its exports of semi-processed minerals and metals. Furthermore,  the low backward participation rate of Brazil 
might be justified by the size of its economy since large economies can benefit from a wider range 
of domestically produced inputs. Argentina presents  a similar GVC profile as Brazil and its exports 
of primary products justify for the significant share of forward linkages in the GVC participation 
index. Finally, it is worth noting that both economies provide services to GVCs (e.g. transport and 
telecommunication services or wholesale and retail services) that also contribute to their high degree of forward GVC linkages. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 40 - 
 
  Chart 27: GVC participation index - Back ward and forward linkages in selected 
developing economies, 2011 
(% share of total exports)  
 
Source: OECD-WTO TiVA database. 
 
5.10.  Chart 27 provides an overview of GVC participation for few economies from Africa, 
developing Europe and Middle East that are av ailable in the TiVA database. Such regions are 
under-reported in TiVA mainly due to a lack of data sources. The WTO and OECD have undertaken 
international cooperation activities to extend the country coverage of the underlying ICIO tables. 
5.11.  At first glance, the GVC profile of the Kin gdom of Saudi Arabia presents an extremely high 
proportion of forward linkages, estimated at 42% in 2011. However, this is what can be usually 
observed for major oil exporters, like for Brunei Darussalam in Chart 25. This is mainly due to 
these countries' primary commodities exports which do not necessarily imply a GVC-type long-term relationship between international buyers and sellers. Excluding this, primary commodity exporters do not show high participation rates in GVCs.  
5.12.  The Turkish economy strongly participates in manufacturing GVCs by importing 
intermediates from sectors like chemicals, basic metals, textiles and transport equipment. Backward participation stood at 25.7% of gross exports in 2011 against 15.3% for forward 
participation.  
5.13.   The GVC participation profile of Israel is quite balanced in 2011. It reflects both the use of 
foreign intermediates in its exports (backward participation), especially in the fields of chemicals, 
electrical equipment and other manufactures (e.g. diamonds), and the role of business services 
that largely contribute to Israel's domestic value added exports to GVCs partners (forward 
participation). 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 41 - 
 
  ANNEX 
THE DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT FOR TRADING ACROSS BORDERS 
1.  This annex is based on the Doing Business database 2015 and the 2015 report published by 
the World Bank. Most information is drawn from the "Trading across borders" chapter. The 
complete database and reports can be found at: http://www.doingbusiness.org . 
2.  In 2014, developing economies as an aggregate reduced their delays for exporting and 
importing, although by less than half a day only compared to 2012. It took 20.9 days for the 
developing group to export, slightly more to import (23.9 days). Developing economies' procedural 
requirements remained relatively long. It took almost twice as much time to export from the developing economies than from their developed peers. Similarly, the time lag for importing between the two groups reached 14 days. Overall, trading across borders for the developing 
economies was more expensive than for the deve loped group, by about 25% for exporting and 
44% for importing. However, compared to the previo us report this differenc e is gradually reducing. 
Table 1: Costs of trading across border, 2014
a 
Grouping or Regionb Documents 
to export 
(number)c Time to 
export 
(days) Cost to 
export  
(US$ per 
container)d Documents 
to import 
(number)c Time to 
import 
(days) Cost to 
import  
(US$ per 
container)d 
Developing economies, 
of which  6.5 20.9 1389 7.6 23.9 1640 
Latin America 5.8 17.5 1384 6.7 20.0 1702 
Developing Europe 6.7 14.3 1165 7.3 14.2 1240 
Africa 7.4 28.9 2052 8.7 35.8 2715 
Middle East 6.2 20.3 1221 8.0 24.9 1351 
Developing Asia 6.6 23.4 1121 7.4 24.7 1192 
Memorandum items             
World 6.2 22.1 1785 7.6 25.0 1988 
Developed economies 4.0 10.7 1113 4.7 9.8 1144 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 
(CIS) 8.4 35.2 3022 10.2 40.3 3469 
Landlocked developing 
economies 8.2 36.8 3040 9.6 44.9 3940 
LDCs 7.7 32.4 2084 8.9 38.1 2671 
a Procedural requirements for exporting and impo rting a standardized cargo of goods by ocean 
transport. Procedures range from packing the g oods at the warehouse to their departure from the 
port of exit. The time and cost for oc ean transport itself are not included. 
b Computed according to WTO definitions as simple averages across economies composing the 
respective groups.  
c Documents include documents required for clearance by government ministries, customs authorities, 
port and container terminal auth orities, health and technical control agencies and banks.  
d Cost is recorded as the fees le vied on a 20-foot container, excl uding tariffs or trade taxes.  
Source: WTO calculations based on World Bank Doing Business database. 
 
3.  In 2014, Africa recorded a remarkable reduction of 0.8 days for exporting and 1.1 days for 
importing thanks to improvements in several LDCs, especially landlocked. In Chad, which has the longest procedural requirements for exporting in the region, the time to export was shortened by 
five days and by 11 days for importing. In the Ce ntral African Republic, the cut was by eight days, 
in Uganda by five days. Benin, Rwanda, Niger, Mozambique, also registered notable improvements. Overall in the LDCs, the delays to export and import were reduced by almost a day (Chart 1). However, Africa continued to register the longest average delays and highest costs of 
trading across borders among developing economies. Shipping a cargo from the region or 
importing it was twice more expensive than in developing Asia.  
4.  In developing Asia, Myanmar, another LDC, shortened considerably its delays for trading, 
gaining 32 places in the Doing Business ranking by  ease of trading across borders. Other Asian WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 42 - 
 
  LDCs such as Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, Bangladesh and Cambodia also recorded 
reductions. In contrast, in Afghanistan it took much longer to trade compared to 2012. 
5.  Elsewhere in developing Asia, trading delays were the same as in 2012, with the exception of 
Sri Lanka, which saw improvements, and some large traders - India, Indonesia, and the 
Philippines - recording a slightly longer time span for importing.  
6.   Despite geopolitical tensions in the region, the average time for exporting from the Middle East 
remained unchanged, while it took slightly longer (0.3 days) to import. However, improvements 
were recorded in Qatar (-2 days to export and -1 day to import) and Jordan (-1 days to export). 
Yemen, in contrast, saw a worsening of import delays (+2 days). 
Chart 1: Change in the time to export and importa by economic groupings and regions, 
2012-2014 
 
a Time taken by the procedural requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of 
goods by ocean transport. Procedures range fro m packing the goods at the warehouse to their 
departure from the port of exit. The time fo r ocean transport itself is not included. 
Source: WTO calculations based on World Bank Doing Business database (simple averages across economies 
composing the respective groups). 
 
7.  Developing Europe recorded the shortest dela ys for exports and imports. In 2014, the region's 
reduction in the time for trading compared to 2012 reflected only Serbia's cutting its delays of one 
day. Other economies in the region did not register changes. Developing Europe's costs for 
exporting and importing were only 4% higher than in developing Asia. 
8.  Latin America continued to reduce its procedural requirements for trading. In 2014, the region 
ranked second among developing economies in terms of the shortest time for exporting and 
importing. Considerable reductions were observed in Haiti, the only LDC in the region, which shortened its delays by five days on both export s and imports, as well as in Paraguay, Belize, 
Ecuador and Saint Lucia. However, significant obstacles remained in the Bolivarian Republic of 
Venezuela which ranked 176 out of 189 for trading across borders.    
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 43 - 
 
  APPENDIX 
APPENDIX TABLE 1: MERCHANDISE EXPORTS OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES AND REGIONS, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
World a 18493.72 100.000 100.000 - - 1 2 0 
Developing economies a 8072.34 43.487 43.649 100.000 100.000 1 2 1 
Latin America and the 
Caribbean 1092.39 6.230 5.907 14.327 13.532 -1 0 -2 
Developing Europe 186.16 0.973 1.007 2.236 2.306 3 2 4 
Africa 555.43 3.551 3.003 8.165 6.881 -7 -6 -8 
Middle East 1287.81 7.481 6.963 17.203 15.953 -2 0 -4 
Developing Asia a 4950.56 25.252 26.769 58.068 61.327 4 5 4 
Afghanistan 0.57 0.002 0.003 0.005 0.007 15 20 11 
Albania 2.43 0.011 0.013 0.025 0.030 11 18 4 
Algeria 62.96 0.399 0.340 0.917 0.780 -6 -10 -3 
American Samoa 0.38 0.002 0.002 0.006 0.005 -8 -13 -3 
Angola 62.40 0.394 0.337 0.907 0.773 -6 -4 -9 
Antigua and Barbuda 0.06 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 -6 8 -19 
Argentina 71.98 0.445 0.389 1.024 0.892 -5 2 -12 
Aruba (the Netherlands 
with respect to) 0.24 0.008 0.001 0.018 0.003 -59 -80 -15 
Bahamas 0.85 0.005 0.005 0.013 0.011 -7 -3 -11 
Bahrain, Kingdom of 20.47 0.110 0.111 0.252 0.254 2 6 -2 
Bangladesh 30.41 0.139 0.164 0.321 0.377 10 16 4 
Barbados 0.44 0.003 0.002 0.007 0.005 -12 -19 -5 
Belize 0.59 0.003 0.003 0.008 0.007 -3 -3 -3 
Benin 2.01 0.008 0.011 0.018 0.025 18 30 8 
Bhutan 0.56 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.007 2 2 2 
Bolivia, Plurinational 
State of 12.27 0.062 0.066 0.144 0.152 4 4 5 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.89 0.029 0.032 0.066 0.073 7 10 4 
Botswana 7.80 0.033 0.042 0.076 0.097 14 27 3 
Brazil 225.10 1.346 1.217 3.095 2.789 -4 0 -7 
Brunei Darussalam 10.51 0.072 0.057 0.166 0.130 -10 -12 -8 
Burkina Faso 2.49 0.012 0.013 0.028 0.031 7 8 6 
Burundi 0.13 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 -3 -30 33 
Cambodia 10.80 0.043 0.058 0.100 0.134 17 18 17 
Cameroon 4.85 0.024 0.026 0.055 0.060 7 6 7 
Cabo Verde 0.08 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 23 30 16 
Central African Republic 0.09 0.001 0.000 0.003 0.001 -33 -25 -40 
Chad 3.60 0.024 0.019 0.056 0.045 -10 -14 -5 
Chile 75.67 0.432 0.409 0.992 0.937 -1 -2 -1 
China 2342.31 11.366 12.665 26.136 29.016 7 8 6 
Colombia 54.79 0.334 0.296 0.767 0.679 -5 -2 -7 
Comoros 0.03 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 14 1 29 
Congo 8.26 0.056 0.045 0.128 0.102 -9 -10 -9 
Cook Islands 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 98 99 98 
Costa Rica 11.25 0.063 0.061 0.146 0.139 -1 1 -3 
Côte d'Ivoire 12.78 0.067 0.069 0.155 0.158 3 9 -4 
Cuba 5.19 0.033 0.028 0.075 0.064 -6 -6 -7 
Curaçao 0.72 0.005 0.004 0.012 0.009 -13 -26 2 
Democratic Rep. of the 
Congo 6.90 0.035 0.037 0.080 0.085 5 -2 11 
Djibouti 0.14 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 9 1 16 
Dominica 0.04 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 4 6 2 
Dominican Republic 9.92 0.050 0.054 0.116 0.123 5 6 3 
Ecuador 25.73 0.132 0.139 0.303 0.319 4 5 4 
Egypt 27.09 0.163 0.146 0.375 0.336 -4 -3 -5 
El Salvador 5.27 0.030 0.029 0.068 0.065 -1 3 -4 
Equatorial Guinea 12.60 0.087 0.068 0.200 0.156 -10 -6 -14 
Eritrea 0.77 0.003 0.004 0.006 0.009 26 -31 132 
Ethiopia 4.44 0.016 0.024 0.037 0.055 24 41 9 
Fiji 1.37 0.007 0.007 0.016 0.017 6 -9 24 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 44 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
French Polynesia 0.17 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 11 9 12 
Gabon 8.93 0.054 0.048 0.123 0.111 -4 -1 -6 
The Gambia 0.11 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.001 -4 -11 2 
Ghana 13.22 0.075 0.071 0.173 0.164 -1 1 -4 
Grenada 0.04 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 3 9 -2 
Guatemala 10.83 0.055 0.059 0.127 0.134 4 0 8 
Guinea 1.40 0.007 0.008 0.017 0.017 4 0 8 
Guinea-Bissau 0.16 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 12 8 16 
Guyana 1.17 0.008 0.006 0.018 0.014 -9 -3 -15 
Haiti 0.92 0.005 0.005 0.010 0.011 6 9 4 
Honduras 8.07 0.046 0.044 0.107 0.100 -2 -7 3 
Hong Kong, China 524.06 2.735 2.834 6.288 6.492 3 9 -2 
domestic exports 15.60 0.124 0.084 0.285 0.193 -16 -13 -20 
India 321.60 1.647 1.739 3.787 3.984 4 6 2 
Indonesia 176.29 1.054 0.953 2.424 2.184 -4 -4 -3 
Iran 88.80 0.577 0.480 1.327 1.100 -8 -21 8 
Iraq 84.63 0.524 0.458 1.204 1.048 -5 -5 -6 
Israel 68.12 0.350 0.368 0.806 0.844 4 6 2 
Jamaica 1.45 0.009 0.008 0.022 0.018 -8 -8 -7 
Jordan 8.22 0.044 0.044 0.101 0.102 2 0 4 
Kenya 6.11 0.034 0.033 0.078 0.076 0 -4 4 
Kiribati 0.01 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 -4 15 -19 
Korea, Dem. People's 
Rep. of 3.58 0.022 0.019 0.050 0.044 -5 -3 -7 
Korea, Republic of 572.66 3.040 3.097 6.989 7.094 2 2 2 
Kuwait, the State of 104.25 0.660 0.564 1.517 1.291 -6 -3 -9 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 2.65 0.013 0.014 0.029 0.033 8 0 17 
Lebanese Republic 4.55 0.031 0.025 0.072 0.056 -10 -8 -12 
Lesotho 0.92 0.005 0.005 0.012 0.011 -2 -13 9 
Liberia, Republic of 0.58 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.007 13 22 4 
Libya 21.00 0.338 0.114 0.778 0.260 -41 -29 -52 
Macao, China 1.24 0.006 0.007 0.013 0.015 10 11 9 
Madagascar 2.13 0.008 0.011 0.019 0.026 18 27 11 
Malawi 1.37 0.007 0.007 0.015 0.017 8 2 14 
Malaysia 234.14 1.262 1.266 2.903 2.901 1 0 3 
Maldives 0.33 0.002 0.002 0.004 0.004 2 5 -2 
Mali 2.10 0.014 0.011 0.033 0.026 -10 -10 -10 
Marshall Islands 0.07 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 5 5 5 
Mauritania 1.95 0.015 0.011 0.034 0.024 -14 0 -27 
Mauritius 3.11 0.015 0.017 0.034 0.038 8 8 8 
Mexico 397.51 2.056 2.149 4.728 4.924 4 3 5 
Micronesia, Federated 
States of 0.03 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 -23 -33 -11 
Mongolia 5.77 0.024 0.031 0.056 0.072 15 -3 35 
Montenegro 0.45 0.003 0.002 0.006 0.006 -2 5 -10 
Montserrat 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 38 233 -43 
Morocco 23.66 0.119 0.128 0.274 0.293 5 2 8 
Mozambique 4.73 0.021 0.026 0.049 0.059 11 4 17 
Myanmar 11.03 0.049 0.060 0.113 0.137 11 27 -2 
Namibia 4.44 0.024 0.024 0.056 0.055 1 6 -4 
Nepal 0.89 0.005 0.005 0.012 0.011 -1 -4 1 
New Caledonia 1.59 0.007 0.009 0.017 0.020 10 -8 30 
Nicaragua 5.13 0.026 0.028 0.060 0.063 5 2 7 
Niger 1.50 0.008 0.008 0.018 0.019 2 10 -6 
Nigeria 97.00 0.644 0.525 1.480 1.202 -9 -10 -7 
Niue 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0 0 0 
Oman 53.22 0.289 0.288 0.665 0.659 1 8 -6 
Pakistan 24.71 0.136 0.134 0.313 0.306 0 2 -2 
Palau 0.01 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 -18 -22 -14 
Panama 13.18 0.090 0.071 0.207 0.163 -10 -9 -11 
Papua New Guinea 5.67 0.035 0.031 0.081 0.070 -5 -6 -5 
Paraguay 9.66 0.040 0.052 0.093 0.120 15 30 2 
Peru 39.33 0.263 0.213 0.605 0.487 -9 -10 -7 
Philippines 62.10 0.289 0.336 0.665 0.769 9 9 10 
Qatar 131.72 0.738 0.712 1.696 1.632 0 3 -4 
Rwanda 0.74 0.003 0.004 0.008 0.009 12 19 5 
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.04 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 -4 -11 2 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 45 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Saint Lucia 0.16 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 -7 -4 -9 
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines 0.05 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 6 14 -2 
Samoa 0.07 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 -3 -18 16 
Sao Tome and Principe 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 19 6 33 
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 353.84 2.155 1.913 4.955 4.383 -5 -3 -6 
Senegal 2.81 0.014 0.015 0.032 0.035 5 5 5 
Serbia 14.84 0.062 0.080 0.143 0.184 15 30 2 
Seychelles 0.54 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.007 4 16 -7 
Sierra Leone 1.89 0.006 0.010 0.014 0.023 30 71 -2 
Singapore 409.77 2.266 2.216 5.210 5.076 0 0 0 
Sint Maarten 0.13 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 0 35 -27 
Solomon Islands 0.45 0.003 0.002 0.006 0.006 -5 -10 0 
Somalia 0.51 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.006 -3 -4 -2 
South Africa 91.05 0.553 0.492 1.271 1.128 -4 -4 -5 
Sri Lanka 11.30 0.052 0.061 0.120 0.140 10 9 11 
Sudan 4.35 0.023 0.024 0.052 0.054 3 18 -9 
Suriname 2.15 0.015 0.012 0.034 0.027 -11 -11 -10 
Swaziland 1.92 0.011 0.010 0.025 0.024 0 -2 1 
Syrian Arab Republic 2.00 0.022 0.011 0.051 0.025 -29 -50 0 
Chinese Taipei 313.70 1.671 1.696 3.842 3.886 2 1 3 
Tanzania 4.65 0.031 0.025 0.071 0.058 -8 -20 5 
Thailand 227.57 1.271 1.231 2.923 2.819 0 0 0 
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia 4.93 0.022 0.027 0.051 0.061 11 7 15 
Timor-Leste 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 -19 -48 25 
Togo 1.35 0.007 0.007 0.017 0.017 1 16 -11 
Tonga 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 13 10 17 
Trinidad and Tobago 12.59 0.072 0.068 0.166 0.156 -2 -2 -1 
Tunisia 16.76 0.094 0.091 0.217 0.208 -1 0 -2 
Turkey 157.62 0.846 0.852 1.945 1.953 2 0 4 
Tuvalu 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0 0 0 
Uganda 2.27 0.013 0.012 0.030 0.028 -2 2 -6 
United Arab Emirates 360.00 1.936 1.947 4.452 4.460 2 9 -5 
Uruguay 9.16 0.048 0.050 0.111 0.114 3 4 1 
Vanuatu 0.06 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 7 -30 63 
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of 80.47 0.540 0.435 1.242 0.997 -9 -9 -10 
Viet Nam 150.48 0.635 0.814 1.461 1.864 15 15 14 
Yemen 8.00 0.046 0.043 0.106 0.099 -2 0 -4 
Zambia 9.70 0.052 0.052 0.119 0.120 2 13 -8 
Zimbabwe 3.06 0.022 0.017 0.050 0.038 -11 -10 -13 
Memorandum                 
Developed Economies 9686.28 52.075 52.376 119.748 119.993 2 3 0 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) 735.10 4.437 3.975 10.203 9.106 -4 -2 -6 
LDCs (48) 207.24 1.134 1.121 2.608 2.567 1 4 -2 
NICs (6) 1773.44 9.634 9.589 22.153 21.969 1 1 1 
a Excluding Hong Kong, China re-exports. 
- Not applicable. ... Not available. Note: Recent figures for a number of  countries and territories have be en estimated by the Secretariat. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 46 - 
 
  APPENDIX TABLE 2: MERCHANDISE IMPORTS OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES AND REGIONS, 
2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
World a 18641.13 100.000 100.000 - - 1 1 1 
Developing economies a 7638.99 40.331 40.979 100.000 100.000 2 3 0 
Latin America and the 
Caribbean 1150.91 6.209 6.174 15.395 15.066 1 3 -1 
Developing Europe 288.64 1.526 1.548 3.784 3.779 2 6 -3 
Africa 641.95 3.372 3.444 8.361 8.404 2 3 1 
Middle East 784.41 4.026 4.208 9.981 10.269 3 6 0 
Developing Asia a 4773.01 25.199 25.605 62.479 62.482 2 3 1 
Afghanistan 7.73 0.050 0.041 0.123 0.101 -8 -4 -11 
Albania 5.23 0.027 0.028 0.066 0.068 3 0 7 
Algeria 58.33 0.275 0.313 0.683 0.764 8 9 6 
American Samoa 0.37 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 4 3 4 
Angola b 28.32 0.130 0.152 0.321 0.371 9 11 8 
Antigua and Barbuda 0.50 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.007 1 2 -1 
Argentina 65.32 0.372 0.350 0.922 0.855 -2 8 -11 
Aruba (the Netherlands 
with respect to) b 1.35 0.011 0.007 0.028 0.018 -19 -33 -1 
Bahamas 3.27 0.019 0.018 0.046 0.043 -2 -6 3 
Bahrain, Kingdom of 13.91 0.070 0.075 0.174 0.182 4 12 -3 
Bangladesh 42.27 0.187 0.227 0.463 0.553 11 9 14 
Barbados 1.74 0.010 0.009 0.024 0.023 -1 -1 -1 
Belize 1.00 0.005 0.005 0.012 0.013 8 8 8 
Benin 2.48 0.013 0.013 0.032 0.032 3 32 -20 
Bhutan 0.81 0.005 0.004 0.013 0.011 -10 -8 -11 
Bolivia, Plurinational 
State of 10.42 0.047 0.056 0.116 0.136 10 9 12 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.99 0.055 0.059 0.136 0.144 5 3 7 
Botswana 7.75 0.044 0.042 0.109 0.101 -2 -6 3 
Brazil 239.15 1.276 1.283 3.163 3.131 1 7 -5 
Brunei Darussalam 3.60 0.020 0.019 0.048 0.047 0 1 0 
Burkina Faso 3.73 0.017 0.020 0.043 0.049 8 22 -4 
Burundi 0.77 0.004 0.004 0.010 0.010 1 8 -5 
Cambodia b 13.50 0.062 0.072 0.154 0.177 9 13 5 
Cameroon 6.98 0.036 0.037 0.088 0.091 4 2 5 
Cabo Verde 0.77 0.004 0.004 0.010 0.010 0 -5 6 
Central African Republic 0.25 0.002 0.001 0.004 0.003 -11 -22 2 
Chad 4.30 0.019 0.023 0.047 0.056 11 14 8 
Chile 72.16 0.438 0.387 1.085 0.945 -5 -1 -9 
China 1959.36 9.939 10.511 24.643 25.649 4 7 0 
Colombia 64.03 0.323 0.343 0.800 0.838 4 1 8 
Comoros 0.27 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.004 0 4 -3 
Congo b 6.20 0.030 0.033 0.074 0.081 6 10 2 
Cook Islands 0.12 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 4 2 5 
Costa Rica 17.19 0.096 0.092 0.238 0.225 -1 2 -5 
Côte d'Ivoire 10.86 0.053 0.058 0.132 0.142 5 28 -13 
Cuba 13.11 0.076 0.070 0.188 0.172 -3 7 -11 
Curaçao 1.87 0.012 0.010 0.031 0.024 -9 -14 -3 
Democratic Republic of 
the Congo 6.60 0.033 0.035 0.083 0.086 4 3 5 
Djibouti b 0.97 0.003 0.005 0.008 0.013 31 27 35 
Dominica 0.21 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.003 -1 -3 1 
Dominican Republic b 17.29 0.097 0.093 0.240 0.226 -1 -5 2 
Ecuador 27.74 0.139 0.149 0.345 0.363 4 7 2 
Egypt 67.49 0.378 0.362 0.938 0.884 -1 -16 16 
El Salvador 10.51 0.056 0.056 0.139 0.138 1 5 -2 
Equatorial Guinea 6.50 0.041 0.035 0.102 0.085 -7 -7 -7 
Eritrea 1.13 0.005 0.006 0.013 0.015 8 6 9 
Ethiopia 18.99 0.065 0.102 0.161 0.249 26 25 27 
Fiji 3.25 0.012 0.017 0.031 0.043 20 25 15 
French Polynesia 1.76 0.009 0.009 0.023 0.023 2 6 -3 
Gabon 2.99 0.020 0.016 0.049 0.039 -9 7 -23 
The Gambia 0.37 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 -1 -8 6 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 47 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Ghana 14.57 0.097 0.078 0.241 0.191 -9 -1 -17 
Grenada 0.34 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.004 0 8 -8 
Guatemala 18.28 0.093 0.098 0.230 0.239 4 3 4 
Guinea 2.03 0.012 0.011 0.031 0.027 -5 -7 -3 
Guinea-Bissau b 0.23 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.003 13 0 27 
Guyana 1.78 0.011 0.010 0.027 0.023 -6 -6 -5 
Haiti 3.60 0.017 0.019 0.043 0.047 7 7 6 
Honduras b 11.07 0.062 0.059 0.154 0.145 -1 -4 1 
Hong Kong, China 600.61 3.025 3.222 7.501 7.862 4 12 -3 
retained imports 150.67 0.745 0.808 1.846 1.972 5 5 6 
India 463.03 2.677 2.484 6.636 6.061 -3 -5 -1 
Indonesia 178.18 1.048 0.956 2.598 2.332 -4 -3 -5 
Iran 51.00 0.312 0.274 0.774 0.668 -5 -14 4 
Iraq 59.00 0.307 0.317 0.762 0.772 2 8 -3 
Israel 75.41 0.412 0.405 1.022 0.987 0 -1 1 
Jamaica 5.84 0.035 0.031 0.086 0.076 -4 -2 -6 
Jordan 22.87 0.113 0.123 0.281 0.299 5 5 5 
Kenya 18.40 0.089 0.099 0.221 0.241 6 0 12 
Kiribati 0.10 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 -6 -11 -2 
Korea, Dem. People's 
Rep. of 4.35 0.026 0.023 0.065 0.057 -5 -4 -6 
Korea, Republic of 525.51 2.840 2.819 7.041 6.879 1 -1 2 
Kuwait, the State of 31.48 0.149 0.169 0.369 0.412 7 7 7 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. 3.30 0.017 0.018 0.041 0.043 4 -1 9 
Lebanese Republic 21.14 0.120 0.113 0.297 0.277 -2 0 -4 
Lesotho 2.21 0.014 0.012 0.035 0.029 -8 -15 0 
Liberia 1.05 0.005 0.006 0.014 0.014 2 14 -9 
Libya 19.00 0.120 0.102 0.298 0.249 -7 23 -30 
Macao, China 11.40 0.049 0.061 0.122 0.149 13 14 11 
Madagascar 3.26 0.017 0.017 0.042 0.043 3 5 0 
Malawi 2.97 0.013 0.016 0.032 0.039 12 21 5 
Malaysia 208.86 1.073 1.120 2.662 2.734 3 5 1 
Maldives 1.99 0.008 0.011 0.021 0.026 13 12 15 
Mali 3.98 0.019 0.021 0.047 0.052 7 10 5 
Marshall Islands 0.18 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 13 0 29 
Mauritania 2.67 0.017 0.014 0.042 0.035 -8 -3 -12 
Mauritius 5.61 0.029 0.030 0.073 0.073 2 1 4 
Mexico 411.58 2.080 2.208 5.156 5.388 4 3 5 
Micronesia, Federated 
States of 0.22 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.003 7 -3 17 
Mongolia 5.24 0.037 0.028 0.091 0.069 -12 -6 -18 
Montenegro 2.36 0.013 0.013 0.032 0.031 0 1 0 
Montserrat 0.04 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 2 14 -8 
Morocco 45.83 0.245 0.246 0.608 0.600 1 1 1 
Mozambique 8.75 0.047 0.047 0.118 0.115 0 16 -13 
Myanmar 16.23 0.050 0.087 0.125 0.212 33 31 35 
Namibia 7.60 0.040 0.041 0.098 0.099 2 1 3 
Nepal 7.56 0.033 0.041 0.082 0.099 12 8 15 
New Caledonia 3.32 0.018 0.018 0.044 0.044 1 0 3 
Nicaragua 6.95 0.037 0.037 0.092 0.091 1 -1 4 
Niger 2.25 0.010 0.012 0.026 0.029 9 6 11 
Nigeria 60.00 0.279 0.322 0.691 0.785 8 10 7 
Niue 0.01 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 25 29 22 
Oman 30.37 0.157 0.163 0.388 0.398 3 24 -15 
Pakistan 47.64 0.241 0.256 0.598 0.624 4 1 7 
Palau 0.18 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 13 19 7 
Panama 21.20 0.125 0.114 0.309 0.278 -4 -4 -3 
Papua New Guinea 4.00 0.029 0.021 0.072 0.052 -13 14 -34 
Paraguay 12.17 0.063 0.065 0.157 0.159 3 5 0 
Peru 42.35 0.231 0.227 0.573 0.554 0 3 -2 
Philippines 67.55 0.357 0.362 0.886 0.884 2 0 4 
Qatar 34.60 0.187 0.186 0.463 0.453 1 2 -1 
Rwanda 2.46 0.013 0.013 0.031 0.032 3 0 7 
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.27 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.004 10 10 10 
Saint Lucia 0.59 0.004 0.003 0.009 0.008 -4 -7 -1 
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines 0.36 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 1 4 -2 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 48 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Samoa 0.39 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 6 6 6 
Sao Tome and Principe 0.17 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 14 16 12 
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 163.00 0.850 0.874 2.109 2.134 2 8 -3 
Senegal 6.64 0.035 0.036 0.087 0.087 2 3 0 
Serbia 20.61 0.103 0.111 0.256 0.270 4 9 0 
Seychelles 1.14 0.006 0.006 0.015 0.015 3 1 6 
Sierra Leone 1.49 0.009 0.008 0.022 0.019 -4 11 -16 
Singapore 366.25 2.075 1.965 5.146 4.794 -2 -2 -2 
Sint Maarten 0.88 0.004 0.005 0.010 0.012 7 20 -5 
Solomon Islands 0.51 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.007 2 7 -2 
Somalia 1.30 0.007 0.007 0.016 0.017 4 8 0 
South Africa 121.94 0.695 0.654 1.723 1.596 -2 -1 -3 
Sri Lanka 19.42 0.105 0.104 0.260 0.254 1 -6 8 
Sudan 9.21 0.050 0.049 0.125 0.121 0 7 -7 
Suriname 2.01 0.011 0.011 0.027 0.026 0 9 -7 
Swaziland 1.58 0.010 0.008 0.025 0.021 -8 -8 -7 
Syrian Arab Republic 6.70 0.040 0.036 0.099 0.088 -4 -26 24 
Chinese Taipei 274.03 1.478 1.470 3.665 3.587 1 0 2 
Tanzania 12.39 0.062 0.066 0.154 0.162 4 7 2 
Thailand 227.95 1.362 1.223 3.376 2.984 -4 1 -9 
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia 7.28 0.036 0.039 0.088 0.095 6 1 10 
Timor-Leste 0.94 0.004 0.005 0.009 0.012 19 27 12 
Togo 2.80 0.013 0.015 0.032 0.037 8 12 5 
Tonga 0.20 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.003 0 0 1 
Trinidad and Tobago 7.49 0.050 0.040 0.123 0.098 -9 -2 -16 
Tunisia 24.83 0.134 0.133 0.332 0.325 1 -1 2 
Turkey 242.18 1.293 1.299 3.206 3.170 1 6 -4 
Tuvalu 0.01 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 -37 -53 -14 
Uganda 5.87 0.033 0.032 0.082 0.077 -1 -4 1 
United Arab Emirates 262.00 1.235 1.405 3.063 3.430 8 11 4 
Uruguay 11.48 0.064 0.062 0.158 0.150 -1 0 -1 
Vanuatu 0.31 0.002 0.002 0.004 0.004 2 6 -1 
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of 44.28 0.332 0.238 0.823 0.580 -15 -10 -19 
Viet Nam 149.26 0.622 0.801 1.542 1.954 15 16 13 
Yemen 12.94 0.073 0.069 0.180 0.169 -1 0 -3 
Zambia 9.55 0.048 0.051 0.119 0.125 4 15 -6 
Zimbabwe 4.20 0.024 0.023 0.060 0.055 -2 -2 -2 
Memorandum                 
Developed Economies 10495.71 56.543 56.304 140.196 137.397 1 0 1 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 
(CIS) 506.44 3.126 2.717 7.750 6.630 -6 0 -11 
LDCs (48) 266.07 1.268 1.427 3.144 3.483 7 9 5 
NICs (6) 1753.27 9.573 9.405 23.737 22.952 0 0 0 
a Excluding Hong Kong, China imports for re-exports. 
b Imports are valued f.o.b. 
- Not applicable. 
... Not available. 
Note: Recent figures for a number of  countries and territories have be en estimated by the Secretariat. 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 49 - 
 
  APPENDIX TABLE 3: COMMERCIAL SERVICES EXPORTS OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES AND 
REGIONS, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
World 4939.57 100.000 100.000 - - 5 5 5 
Developing Economies 1490.02 30.748 30.165 100.000 100.000 4 4 5 
Latin America and the 
Caribbean 168.03 3.527 3.402 11.472 11.609 3 5 2 
Developing Europe 63.25 1.216 1.281 3.956 4.123 8 8 8 
Africa 100.04 2.198 2.025 7.149 6.663 1 -3 6 
Middle East 126.49 2.603 2.561 8.464 8.341 4 2 7 
Developing Asia 1032.21 21.204 20.897 68.959 69.264 4 4 5 
Afghanistan … 0.067 … 0.218 … … -3 … 
Albania 2.65 0.053 0.054 0.174 0.168 6 0 11 
Algeria 3.51 0.081 0.071 0.265 0.270 -2 6 -9 
Angola … 0.017 … 0.057 … … 69 … 
Anguilla 0.14 0.003 0.003 0.009 0.010 6 7 4 
Antigua and Barbuda 0.46 0.011 0.009 0.034 0.032 -1 -4 2 
Argentina 13.51 0.332 0.274 1.081 1.010 -5 -3 -6 
Aruba, (the Netherlands 
with respect to) 2.01 0.039 0.041 0.127 0.131 8 7 8 
Bahamas 2.67 0.059 0.054 0.193 0.185 0 -1 2 
Bahrain, Kingdom of … 0.069 … 0.225 … … 7 … 
Bangladesh 1.43 0.030 0.029 0.098 0.108 3 14 -7 
Barbados 1.45 0.030 0.029 0.099 0.102 3 7 -1 
Belize 0.47 0.008 0.009 0.027 0.030 12 13 10 
Benin … 0.009 … 0.030 … … 21 … 
Bhutan 0.13 0.002 0.003 0.007 0.009 16 24 8 
Bolivia, Plurinational 
State of 1.33 0.025 0.027 0.080 0.084 10 8 11 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.79 0.038 0.036 0.123 0.122 3 3 3 
Botswana 0.51 0.004 0.010 0.014 0.033 65 149 9 
Brazil 39.21 0.854 0.794 2.776 2.634 1 -2 5 
Brunei Darussalam 0.48 0.025 0.010 0.081 0.035 -34 -56 -3 
Burkina Faso … 0.009 … 0.030 … … 12 … 
Burundi … 0.000 … 0.001 … … 101 … 
Cambodia 3.92 0.068 0.079 0.222 0.236 13 10 17 
Cameroon … 0.035 … 0.113 … … 20 … 
Cabo Verde 0.63 0.013 0.013 0.043 0.046 3 11 -5 
Central African Republic … 0.001 … 0.003 … … 40 … 
Chad … 0.006 … 0.021 … 0 -4 … 
Chile 11.24 0.279 0.228 0.907 0.899 -5 3 -12 
China 232.46 4.817 4.706 15.667 14.541 4 -4 12 
Colombia 6.87 0.142 0.139 0.461 0.476 4 7 1 
Comoros 0.07 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.005 8 19 -2 
Congo … 0.011 … 0.036 … … 19 … 
Costa Rica 6.86 0.135 0.139 0.440 0.469 6 10 3 
Côte d'Ivoire … 0.019 … 0.061 … … -4 … 
Cuba 12.33 0.286 0.250 0.929 0.916 -2 2 -5 
Curaçao 1.73 0.033 0.035 0.107 0.114 8 9 7 
Democratic Republic of 
the Congo 0.16 0.005 0.003 0.016 0.012 -15 -26 -2 
Djibouti … 0.003 … 0.011 … … 15 … 
Dominica 0.12 0.002 0.002 0.008 0.008 4 6 2 
Dominican Republic 6.79 0.129 0.138 0.421 0.435 8 7 10 
Ecuador 2.22 0.038 0.045 0.123 0.134 14 13 16 
Egypt 20.26 0.478 0.410 1.554 1.257 -3 -16 13 
El Salvador 2.16 0.040 0.044 0.131 0.142 10 12 7 
Equatorial Guinea … 0.001 … 0.003 … … 5 … 
Eritrea … … … … … … … … 
Ethiopia 2.74 0.057 0.055 0.185 0.202 4 13 -4 
Fiji 1.16 0.025 0.023 0.081 0.078 2 0 5 
French Polynesia 0.89 0.019 0.018 0.063 0.061 2 0 4 
Gabon … 0.004 … 0.013 … … 12 … 
The Gambia 0.22 0.003 0.005 0.011 0.014 21 36 9 
Ghana 1.96 0.072 0.040 0.233 0.165 -22 -26 -17 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 50 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Grenada 0.18 0.004 0.004 0.012 0.011 7 0 14 
Guatemala 2.60 0.052 0.053 0.169 0.170 6 4 8 
Guinea … 0.003 … 0.011 … … -36 … 
Guinea-Bissau … 0.000 … 0.002 … … 77 … 
Guyana 0.15 0.007 0.003 0.022 0.012 -29 -45 -10 
Haiti 0.64 0.011 0.013 0.036 0.042 14 21 8 
Honduras 2.56 0.050 0.052 0.162 0.168 7 7 7 
Hong Kong, China 105.97 2.204 2.145 7.167 7.358 4 6 1 
India 155.63 3.247 3.151 10.560 10.419 4 2 5 
Indonesia 22.92 0.517 0.464 1.680 1.570 0 -3 3 
Iran 8.59 0.145 0.174 0.471 0.448 15 -1 35 
Iraq … 0.059 … 0.193 … … -11 … 
Israel 34.58 0.698 0.700 2.269 2.370 5 8 3 
Jamaica 2.79 0.060 0.057 0.194 0.185 2 -1 6 
Jordan 6.58 0.135 0.133 0.439 0.424 4 0 9 
Kenya 4.03 0.087 0.082 0.283 0.284 2 4 0 
Kiribati … 0.000 … 0.001 … … … … 
Korea, Dem. People's 
Rep. of … 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 … … … 
Korea, Republic of 105.76 2.290 2.141 7.449 7.209 2 0 3 
Kuwait, the State of 5.68 0.185 0.115 0.601 0.393 -17 -32 2 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. … 0.012 … 0.040 … … 38 … 
Lebanese Republic 13.51 0.368 0.273 1.198 1.033 -9 -11 -8 
Lesotho … 0.002 … 0.005 … … -17 … 
Liberia … … … … … … … … 
Libya … 0.003 ... 0.011 … … 18 … 
Macao, China 53.11 1.016 1.075 3.303 3.769 8 18 -1 
Madagascar … 0.029 … 0.095 … … -4 … 
Malawi 0.10 0.002 0.002 0.008 0.008 -2 8 -10 
Malaysia 39.41 0.846 0.798 2.752 2.793 2 5 -1 
Maldives 2.97 0.049 0.060 0.159 0.182 17 19 15 
Mali … 0.007 … 0.023 … … 20 … 
Mauritania … 0.003 … 0.009 … … 31 … 
Mauritius 3.33 0.075 0.067 0.245 0.232 0 -2 1 
Mexico 21.04 0.361 0.426 1.176 1.414 14 25 5 
Micronesia, Federated 
States of … 0.001 … 0.002 … … 6 … 
Mongolia 0.57 0.021 0.012 0.070 0.050 -23 -26 -19 
Montenegro 1.37 0.027 0.028 0.088 0.093 6 9 4 
Montserrat 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 9 5 13 
Morocco 15.95 0.335 0.323 1.088 0.980 3 -7 14 
Mozambique 1.15 0.022 0.023 0.071 0.072 8 4 13 
Myanmar … 0.026 … 0.086 … … 86 … 
Namibia 1.02 0.024 0.021 0.077 0.064 -2 -14 12 
Nepal 1.04 0.017 0.021 0.056 0.068 16 26 8 
New Caledonia ... 0.009 … 0.028 … … 10 … 
Nicaragua 1.30 0.026 0.026 0.084 0.087 6 7 5 
Niger … 0.002 … 0.005 … … 98 … 
Nigeria 1.49 0.046 0.030 0.151 0.136 -15 -7 -22 
Oman 3.02 0.058 0.061 0.188 0.203 8 11 5 
Pakistan 3.50 0.072 0.071 0.233 0.232 4 3 6 
Panama 10.65 0.205 0.216 0.667 0.681 8 6 10 
Papua New Guinea 0.18 0.010 0.004 0.031 0.027 -36 -11 -54 
Paraguay 0.84 0.015 0.017 0.049 0.054 12 15 9 
Peru 5.72 0.107 0.116 0.347 0.398 9 19 1 
Philippines 24.82 0.457 0.503 1.487 1.640 10 14 6 
Qatar 12.77 0.198 0.259 0.645 0.724 20 16 24 
Rwanda 0.53 0.008 0.011 0.026 0.030 22 17 26 
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.16 0.003 0.003 0.010 0.010 7 6 8 
Saint Lucia 0.44 0.009 0.009 0.028 0.029 7 4 9 
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines 0.14 0.003 0.003 0.010 0.010 1 0 1 
Samoa 0.19 0.005 0.004 0.015 0.014 -5 -3 -7 
Sao Tome and Principe 0.06 0.000 0.001 0.001 0.003 86 106 68 
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 11.66 0.237 0.236 0.770 0.795 5 7 3 
Senegal … 0.024 … 0.079 … … 9 … WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 51 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Serbia 5.03 0.089 0.102 0.290 0.320 12 14 11 
Seychelles 0.48 0.010 0.010 0.032 0.033 5 10 0 
Sierra Leone … 0.004 … 0.013 … … 9 … 
Singapore 140.14 2.844 2.837 9.249 9.633 5 8 2 
Sint Maarten 1.12 0.023 0.023 0.076 0.075 4 2 6 
Solomon Islands 0.11 0.003 0.002 0.008 0.009 -3 7 -11 
Somalia … … … … … … … … 
South Africa 16.46 0.385 0.333 1.253 1.153 -2 -5 0 
South Sudan … … … … … … … … 
Sri Lanka 5.57 0.084 0.113 0.275 0.327 22 23 20 
Sudan 1.46 0.019 0.030 0.063 0.072 30 18 43 
Suriname 0.20 0.004 0.004 0.012 0.012 11 3 20 
Swaziland 0.27 0.005 0.006 0.016 0.015 10 -5 28 
Syrian Arab Republic … … … … … … … … 
Chinese Taipei 56.88 1.093 1.151 3.555 3.583 8 4 12 
Tanzania 3.41 0.062 0.069 0.200 0.222 11 15 8 
Thailand 54.94 1.104 1.112 3.590 4.095 6 18 -6 
The former Yugoslav of 
Macedonia 1.69 0.030 0.034 0.099 0.106 12 11 12 
Timor-Leste 0.05 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.003 34 62 11 
Togo … 0.009 … 0.030 … … 8 … 
Tonga 0.05 0.002 0.001 0.005 0.005 -17 -2 -31 
Trinidad and Tobago … … … … … … … … 
Tunisia 4.57 0.106 0.093 0.346 0.322 -2 -4 0 
Turkey 49.76 0.961 1.007 3.126 3.259 8 8 7 
Tuvalu … 0.000 … 0.000 … … -9 … 
Uganda 2.42 0.043 0.049 0.140 0.153 12 13 11 
United Arab Emirates 19.77 0.342 0.400 1.112 1.219 14 14 14 
Uruguay 3.18 0.077 0.064 0.251 0.235 -4 -3 -5 
Vanuatu 0.30 0.007 0.006 0.023 0.022 -2 0 -5 
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Rep. of 1.61 0.042 0.033 0.135 0.129 -7 -1 -12 
Viet Nam 10.83 0.213 0.219 0.692 0.744 7 11 2 
Yemen … 0.032 … 0.103 … … 10 … 
Zambia 0.85 0.022 0.017 0.072 0.053 -7 -23 12 
Zimbabwe … 0.008 … 0.026 … … … … 
Memorandum                 
Developed Economies 3338.11 66.772 67.579 - - 6 6 5 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) 111.44 2.479 2.256 - - 0 10 -8 
LDCs (48) 37.09 0.678 0.751 2.206 2.421 11 14 8 
NICs (6) 503.10 10.381 10.185 33.763 34.671 4 6 2 
- Not applicable. 
... Not available. Note: Recent figures for a number of  countries and territories have be en estimated by the Secretariat. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 52 - 
 
  APPENDIX TABLE 4: COMMERCIAL SERVICES IMPORTS OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES AND 
REGIONS, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$ and %) 
 Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
World 4782.40 100.000 100.000 - - 6 6 5 
Developing Economies 1817.62 37.254 38.006 100.000 100.000 7 6 7 
Latin America and the 
Caribbean 225.74 4.867 4.720 13.064 13.155 4 7 1 
Developing Europe 32.40 0.638 0.678 1.712 1.835 9 14 4 
Africa 171.90 3.776 3.594 10.135 9.613 3 1 5 
Middle East 268.83 5.442 5.621 14.608 14.447 7 5 9 
Developing Asia 1118.75 22.532 23.393 60.481 60.951 8 7 8 
Afghanistan … 0.051 … 0.137 … … -6 … 
Albania 2.30 0.043 0.048 0.116 0.127 11 16 6 
Algeria 11.16 0.244 0.233 0.654 0.602 3 -2 9 
Angola … 0.493 … 1.323 … … 1 … 
Anguilla 0.06 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.003 2 1 3 
Antigua and Barbuda 0.22 0.005 0.005 0.012 0.013 5 8 3 
Argentina 16.35 0.412 0.342 1.105 1.065 -4 2 -10 
Aruba, (the Netherlands 
with respect to) 0.81 0.018 0.017 0.049 0.047 2 2 2 
Bahamas 1.71 0.035 0.036 0.095 0.095 6 6 6 
Bahrain, Kingdom of … 0.034 … 0.093 … … 5 … 
Bangladesh 7.18 0.123 0.150 0.331 0.358 16 15 18 
Barbados 0.42 0.010 0.009 0.028 0.025 -2 -4 -1 
Belize 0.21 0.004 0.004 0.011 0.011 9 10 9 
Benin … 0.013 … 0.036 … … 32 … 
Bhutan 0.22 0.004 0.004 0.012 0.011 7 -5 20 
Bolivia, Plurinational 
State of 3.01 0.044 0.063 0.119 0.135 26 21 31 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.54 0.012 0.011 0.032 0.030 3 -1 8 
Botswana 0.46 0.012 0.010 0.032 0.032 -5 5 -15 
Brazil 85.83 1.812 1.795 4.865 4.895 5 7 3 
Brunei Darussalam 2.02 0.034 0.042 0.092 0.143 17 64 -17 
Burkina Faso … 0.027 … 0.073 … … 20 … 
Burundi … 0.004 … 0.012 … … 17 … 
Cambodia 1.99 0.035 0.042 0.094 0.102 15 16 15 
Cameroon … 0.048 … 0.129 … … 26 … 
Cabo Verde 0.37 0.008 0.008 0.023 0.020 1 -6 9 
Central African Republic 0.17 0.005 0.004 0.012 0.009 -6 -17 5 
Chad … 0.054 … 0.144 … … 12 … 
Chile 14.57 0.343 0.305 0.922 0.923 -1 7 -7 
China 381.58 6.550 7.979 17.583 19.438 17 18 15 
Colombia 13.40 0.282 0.280 0.757 0.745 5 5 6 
Comoros 0.11 0.002 0.002 0.006 0.007 4 10 -2 
Congo … 0.096 … 0.257 … … 12 … 
Costa Rica 2.11 0.048 0.044 0.129 0.121 1 0 2 
Côte d'Ivoire … 0.064 … 0.171 … … 3 … 
Cuba 2.49 0.056 0.052 0.151 0.136 2 -4 8 
Curaçao 0.89 0.020 0.019 0.055 0.051 1 0 2 
Democratic Republic of 
the Congo 2.70 0.045 0.056 0.122 0.136 18 19 17 
Djibouti … 0.003 … 0.008 … … 27 … 
Dominica 0.07 0.002 0.001 0.004 0.004 4 4 4 
Dominican Republic 2.87 0.065 0.060 0.175 0.165 1 0 2 
Ecuador 3.43 0.072 0.072 0.193 0.200 5 10 1 
Egypt 16.78 0.363 0.351 0.973 0.871 4 -5 13 
El Salvador 1.43 0.030 0.030 0.081 0.084 5 10 0 
Equatorial Guinea … 0.071 … 0.191 … … -13 … 
Eritrea … … … … … … … … 
Ethiopia 4.37 0.083 0.091 0.224 0.204 11 -3 26 
Fiji 0.56 0.013 0.012 0.035 0.032 0 -2 2 
French Polynesia 0.54 0.012 0.011 0.032 0.029 3 -2 8 
Gabon … 0.047 … 0.125 … … 8 … 
The Gambia 0.08 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 2 -3 7 
Ghana 3.85 0.090 0.080 0.240 0.256 0 13 -12 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 53 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Grenada 0.09 0.002 0.002 0.006 0.005 1 4 -2 
Guatemala 3.00 0.059 0.063 0.158 0.161 9 8 10 
Guinea … 0.018 … 0.048 … … -20 … 
Guinea-Bissau … 0.002 … 0.005 … … 20 … 
Guyana 0.46 0.012 0.010 0.033 0.029 -6 -5 -8 
Haiti 0.78 0.018 0.016 0.048 0.047 1 2 -1 
Honduras 1.72 0.035 0.036 0.093 0.094 8 8 7 
Hong Kong, China 75.63 1.782 1.581 4.785 4.415 -1 -2 1 
India 146.93 3.006 3.072 8.069 7.365 7 -3 17 
Indonesia 33.08 0.784 0.692 2.105 2.025 -1 2 -4 
Iran 14.32 0.289 0.299 0.776 0.750 7 3 12 
Iraq … 0.303 … 0.814 … … 12 … 
Israel 21.57 0.483 0.451 1.297 1.174 2 -4 8 
Jamaica 2.10 0.049 0.044 0.130 0.117 0 -5 6 
Jordan 4.51 0.104 0.094 0.279 0.263 0 0 1 
Kenya 2.70 0.053 0.056 0.143 0.130 9 -4 22 
Kiribati … 0.002 … 0.004 … … … … 
Korea, Dem. People's 
Rep. of … … … … … … … … 
Korea, Republic of 113.97 2.513 2.383 6.745 6.422 3 1 4 
Kuwait, the State of 22.34 0.467 0.467 1.252 1.169 6 -1 12 
Lao People's Dem. Rep. … 0.008 … 0.021 … … 57 … 
Lebanese Republic 12.69 0.276 0.265 0.742 0.765 3 10 -2 
Lesotho … 0.010 … 0.026 … … -16 … 
Liberia 0.46 0.010 0.010 0.026 0.026 5 4 5 
Libya … 0.146 … 0.393 … … 18 … 
Macao, China 10.53 0.265 0.220 0.710 0.692 -4 4 -10 
Madagascar … 0.026 … 0.070 … … 8 … 
Malawi … 0.005 … 0.013 … … 2 … 
Malaysia 44.71 0.984 0.935 2.641 2.614 3 5 1 
Maldives 0.76 0.013 0.016 0.035 0.040 16 21 12 
Mali … 0.025 … 0.066 … … 15 … 
Mauritania … 0.023 … 0.061 … … -3 … 
Mauritius 2.44 0.056 0.051 0.149 0.155 1 11 -7 
Mexico 31.71 0.624 0.663 1.674 1.725 9 10 8 
Micronesia, Federated 
States of … 0.002 … 0.005 … … -1 … 
Mongolia 2.14 0.048 0.045 0.128 0.119 2 -1 6 
Montenegro 0.44 0.010 0.009 0.027 0.026 0 1 -1 
Montserrat 0.02 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.001 2 3 1 
Morocco 7.98 0.153 0.167 0.412 0.378 10 -2 24 
Mozambique 3.64 0.097 0.076 0.260 0.228 -6 -7 -6 
Myanmar … 0.033 … 0.090 … … 2 … 
Namibia 1.11 0.016 0.023 0.043 0.053 27 31 23 
Nepal 1.05 0.021 0.022 0.055 0.057 9 10 8 
New Caledonia … 0.033 … 0.089 … … 0 … 
Nicaragua 0.91 0.020 0.019 0.053 0.060 4 20 -11 
Niger … 0.020 … 0.052 … … 18 ... 
Nigeria 22.48 0.525 0.470 1.408 1.219 0 -8 9 
Oman 10.44 0.204 0.218 0.547 0.589 9 14 4 
Pakistan 7.75 0.178 0.162 0.477 0.426 1 -5 7 
Panama 4.69 0.105 0.098 0.281 0.276 2 5 0 
Papua New Guinea 2.26 0.087 0.047 0.232 0.227 -22 4 -41 
Paraguay 1.09 0.021 0.023 0.057 0.062 10 16 4 
Peru 7.51 0.167 0.157 0.449 0.439 2 4 1 
Philippines 19.68 0.325 0.412 0.874 0.945 19 15 23 
Qatar 30.01 0.516 0.627 1.384 1.462 16 12 21 
Rwanda 0.58 0.010 0.012 0.027 0.031 16 23 11 
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.12 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.007 5 6 4 
Saint Lucia 0.17 0.004 0.004 0.011 0.011 -3 -1 -4 
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines 0.09 0.002 0.002 0.005 0.005 3 5 0 
Samoa 0.05 0.002 0.001 0.006 0.005 -26 -4 -43 
Sao Tome and Principe 0.07 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.002 66 70 61 
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 59.06 1.163 1.235 3.122 3.044 9 4 14 
Senegal … 0.030 … 0.081 … … 9 … WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 54 - 
 
   Value Share in world Share in 
developing 
economies Annual percentage 
change 
Serbia 4.37 0.087 0.091 0.235 0.239 8 8 8 
Seychelles 0.25 0.005 0.005 0.014 0.013 6 5 8 
Sierra Leone … 0.011 … 0.031 … … 31 … 
Singapore 141.32 3.005 2.955 8.067 8.319 5 10 0 
Sint Maarten 0.29 0.006 0.006 0.016 0.015 6 3 10 
Solomon Islands 0.22 0.004 0.005 0.012 0.014 9 26 -6 
Somalia … … … … … … … … 
South Africa 16.63 0.430 0.348 1.154 1.035 -5 -5 -6 
South Sudan … … … … … … … … 
Sri Lanka 5.59 0.103 0.117 0.276 0.308 13 19 7 
Sudan 1.90 0.047 0.040 0.127 0.113 -3 -5 -1 
Suriname 0.78 0.014 0.016 0.038 0.034 14 -4 35 
Swaziland 0.76 0.019 0.016 0.051 0.040 -3 -16 13 
Syrian Arab Republic … … … … … … … … 
Chinese Taipei 45.24 0.977 0.946 2.623 2.467 4 0 8 
Tanzania 2.63 0.054 0.055 0.145 0.143 7 5 8 
Thailand 52.89 1.230 1.106 3.302 3.212 0 3 -3 
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia 1.19 0.022 0.025 0.059 0.059 13 7 19 
Timor-Leste 0.32 0.011 0.007 0.029 0.019 -17 -29 -4 
Togo … 0.010 … 0.027 … … 8 … 
Tonga 0.06 0.002 0.001 0.005 0.004 -8 -4 -11 
Trinidad and Tobago … … … … … … … … 
Tunisia 3.15 0.070 0.066 0.187 0.185 3 5 0 
Turkey 23.02 0.454 0.481 1.218 1.331 9 16 2 
Tuvalu … 0.001 … 0.002 … … -33 … 
Uganda 3.03 0.057 0.063 0.153 0.155 11 8 15 
United Arab Emirates 70.28 1.452 1.470 3.898 3.907 6 7 6 
Uruguay 3.15 0.055 0.066 0.147 0.187 16 35 -1 
Vanuatu 0.14 0.003 0.003 0.009 0.008 0 -1 0 
Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Rep. of 16.62 0.399 0.348 1.071 1.127 -1 12 -13 
Viet Nam 14.31 0.288 0.299 0.773 0.802 8 10 5 
Yemen … 0.054 … 0.144 … … -4 … 
Zambia 1.60 0.030 0.033 0.081 0.104 11 37 -10 
Zimbabwe … 0.022 … 0.060 … … … … 
Memorandum                 
Developed Economies 2792.86 59.106 58.399 - - 5 5 5 
Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) 171.92 3.640 3.595 - - 5 15 -4 
LDCs (48) 78.74 1.680 1.647 4.509 4.399 5 4 5 
NICs (6) 473.76 10.491 9.906 28.161 27.449 3 4 2 
- Not applicable. 
... Not available. Note: Recent figures for a number of  countries and territories have be en estimated by the Secretariat. 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 55 - 
 
  APPENDIX TABLE 5: CHANGES IN EXPORT PRICES OF PRIMARY COMMODITIES, 2012-2014 
(Annual % change, in terms of US$) 
 2012-14 2013 2014  2012-14 2013 2014 
Food and beverages -1 0  -2 Agricultural raw 
materials 2  2  2  
Food -2 1 -4 Timber 1  0  2  
Cereals -13 -8 -17 Cotton -4  1  -8  
Wheat -5 0 -9 Wool -9  -9  -9  
Maize -20 -13 -26 Rubber -24  -17  -30  
Rice -14 -11 -18 Hides and skins 15  14  16  
Barley -22 -13 -29        
Vegetable oils & 
protein meals -6 -4 -8 Minerals and non-
ferrous metals a -7  -4  -10  
Meat 10 3 17 Copper -7  -8  -6  
Beef 9 -2 22 Aluminium -4  -9  1  
Lamb 14 6 22 Iron ore -13  5  -28  
Swine meat 11 5 19 Tin 2  6  -2  
Poultry 8 10 6 Nickel -2  -14  12  
Seafood 20 41 1 Zinc 5  -2  13  
Fish 18 42 -2 Lead 1  4  -2  
Shrimp 28 39 18 Uranium -17  -21  -13  
Sugar -9 -16 -1        
Bananas -3 -6 1 Energy -6  -3  -8  
Oranges -5 11 -19 Natural gas -3  -4  -3  
Beverages 3 -12 21 Crude petroleum -6  -3  -9  
Coffee 1 -18 26 Coal -14  -13  -16  
Cocoa beans 14 3 26        
Tea -17 -24 -11 All primary 
commodities -5  -3  -7  
a Excluding crude petroleum. 
  WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 56 - 
 
  APPENDIX TABLE 6: NETWORK OF DEVELOPING  ECONOMIES MERCHANDISE TRADE BY PRODUCT 
AND REGION, 2012-2014 
(Billion US$) 
 Destinations 
Reporter 
(origin) World Developed 
economies Developing economies 
Total Developing 
Asia Other 
product 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 
Developing economies  
Agricultural 
products 638.6 671.3 250.9 258.8 362.9 385.7 202.1 220.0 160.8 165.8 
Food 535.7 576.5 209.8 223.3 303.1 328.7 153.8 173.8 149.3 154.9 
Fuels and 
mining products 2262.9 2009.8 933.7 740.4 1240.0 1177.6 963.3 906.9 276.7 270.7 
Fuels 1953.6 1719.0 809.8 629.0 1060.9 1002.8 822.2 767.1 238.6 235.8 
Non-fuel 
minerals 309.3 290.9 123.9 111.4 179.2 174.8 141.1 139.8 38.1 35.0 
Manufactures 4615.3 5109.2 2184.3 2398.4 2277.1 2546.0 1465.1 1652.9 812.0 893.1 
Iron and steel 178.1 189.6 56.8 65.2 115.9 120.0 62.7 66.9 53.2 53.1 
Office & 
telecom equipment 1085.6 1211.8 543.5 573.0 529.6 626.0 453.2 531.9 76.4 94.1 
Automotive 
products 306.3 341.4 154.8 188.2 135.9 140.2 40.5 43.7 95.4 96.5 
Textiles 185.4 209.4 64.0 71.9 111.4 127.8 61.9 73.3 49.6 54.5 
Clothing 297.6 343.8 208.9 235.7 66.9 81.3 25.8 33.0 41.2 48.2 
Total merchandise 7838.6 8072.3 3444.1 3460.5 3991.0 4220.5 2686.8 2844.7 1304.3 1375.8 
 638.6 671.3 250.9 258.8 362.9 385.7 202.1 220.0 160.8 165.8 
Latin America and the Caribbean  
Agricultural 
products 228.6 238.7 101.0 105.2 118.3 123.0 49.6 58.7 68.7 64.3 
Food 208.0 217.4 90.7 94.8 108.7 112.9 42.8 51.2 65.9 61.7 
Fuels and 
mining products 385.6 330.7 209.4 168.0 173.0 158.0 90.2 83.7 82.8 74.3 
Fuels 252.5 214.3 150.9 119.8 98.6 90.2 30.6 29.2 68.0 61.1 
Non-fuel 
minerals 133.1 116.4 58.5 48.2 74.4 67.8 59.6 54.6 14.8 13.2 
Manufactures 461.9 486.5 311.0 350.1 149.3 135.1 18.7 19.0 130.5 116.1 
Iron and steel 24.1 22.6 11.5 12.6 12.5 9.8 3.7 2.4 8.8 7.4 
Office & 
telecom equipment 68.9 70.2 59.9 61.4 9.0 8.8 3.4 3.3 5.6 5.4 
Automotive 
products 100.8 113.7 68.1 85.2 32.3 28.3 1.7 2.8 30.6 25.5 
Textiles 6.3 6.5 2.3 2.7 4.0 3.8 0.1 0.1 3.9 3.7 
Clothing 18.1 17.6 13.4 14.0 4.7 3.6 0.1 0.1 4.7 3.5 
Total merchandise 1123.0 1092.4 656.9 649.5 443.0 418.4 159.4 162.4 283.6 256.0 
 228.6 238.7 101.0 105.2 118.3 123.0 49.6 58.7 68.7 64.3 
Developing Europe  
Agricultural 
products 20.0 23.3 8.7 9.8 9.0 10.5 0.7 0.8 8.3 9.6 
Food 18.8 21.9 7.9 8.9 8.7 10.1 0.6 0.7 8.1 9.4 
Fuels and 
mining products 17.5 15.5 8.3 7.2 8.4 7.0 2.8 2.5 5.6 4.4 
Fuels 9.2 7.2 3.8 2.9 5.1 3.6 0.6 0.3 4.5 3.4 
Non-fuel 
minerals 8.3 8.3 4.5 4.3 3.3 3.4 2.2 2.3 1.1 1.1 
Manufactures 121.9 139.5 66.0 79.3 39.1 42.5 3.2 3.4 36.0 39.1 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 57 - 
 
   Destinations 
Reporter 
(origin) World Developed 
economies Developing economies 
Total Developing 
Asia Other 
product 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 
Iron and steel 14.8 12.3 3.9 4.7 10.1 6.9 0.6 0.4 9.5 6.5 
Office & 
telecom equipment 3.0 2.7 2.4 2.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 
Automotive 
products 15.6 19.8 12.1 16.2 2.1 2.5 0.1 0.1 2.1 2.4 
Textiles 11.3 12.8 5.7 6.9 3.3 3.9 0.4 0.5 2.9 3.4 
Clothing 15.9 18.5 13.0 14.9 1.7 2.5 0.1 0.1 1.6 2.3 
Total merchandise 175.3 186.2 86.1 101.2 69.0 62.5 7.3 7.4 61.7 55.1 
Africa 
 
Agricultural products 58.0 63.6 24.5 25.8 31.9 36.3 9.4 12.2 22.5 24.1 
Food 46.4 51.2 19.8 21.2 25.1 28.6 4.9 6.8 20.2 21.9 
Fuels and mining products 438.0 349.2 244.3 168.0 177.5 168.5 113.1 107.3 64.3 61.2 
Fuels 383.8 297.8 216.5 141.8 151.7 143.7 93.8 88.0 57.9 55.7 
Non-fuel minerals 54.2 51.4 27.8 26.2 25.8 24.8 19.4 19.3 6.4 5.5 
Manufactures 108.6 118.3 51.3 50.6 55.0 65.9 8.5 11.0 46.6 55.0 
Iron and steel 8.8 8.9 3.1 3.0 5.7 5.8 1.8 2.1 3.9 3.7 
Office & 
telecom 
equipment 3.4 4.8 1.6 1.5 1.8 3.2 0.4 0.6 1.4 2.7 
Automotive products 10.7 11.6 6.2 6.2 4.4 5.3 0.4 0.5 4.0 4.8 
Textiles 3.2 3.5 1.7 1.8 1.4 1.6 0.1 0.1 1.3 1.5 
Clothing 9.7 10.6 8.6 9.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.3 
Total 
merchandise 640.1 555.4 329.0 252.3 281.0 284.6 133.1 132.4 147.8 152.2 
Middle East  
Agricultural 
products 27.0 29.8 3.4 3.5 20.2 23.0 5.0 5.7 15.2 17.3 
Food 25.0 27.4 2.9 3.1 19.1 21.8 4.5 5.1 14.6 16.7 
Fuels and mining products 929.2 835.6 331.0 271.2 534.4 499.6 460.9 423.7 73.5 75.9 
Fuels 905.6 814.8 328.5 268.9 517.4 483.7 451.7 414.8 65.7 68.9 
Non-fuel minerals 23.6 20.8 2.5 2.3 17.0 15.9 9.2 8.9 7.7 7.0 
Manufactures 252.5 266.3 64.9 68.9 165.7 172.2 88.0 89.2 77.7 83.0 
Iron and steel 8.1 6.5 0.5 0.7 6.8 5.6 1.9 1.7 5.0 3.9 
Office & 
telecom 
equipment 14.3 17.2 2.9 2.9 10.8 13.6 5.3 6.4 5.5 7.1 
Automotive products 10.5 11.3 0.9 1.0 9.1 9.7 1.4 1.5 7.7 8.3 
Textiles 5.6 5.9 1.2 1.3 3.5 3.8 0.7 0.7 2.8 3.1 
Clothing 9.1 8.7 1.3 1.6 1.5 1.7 0.1 0.1 1.4 1.6 
Total 
merchandise 1348.5 1287.8 406.9 354.0 742.7 746.1 570.7 556.3 172.0 189.8 
Developing Asia  
Agricultural 
products 305.1 315.9 113.4 114.5 183.5 193.0 137.5 142.5 46.0 50.5 
Food 237.6 258.5 88.5 95.3 141.5 155.2 101.0 109.9 40.5 45.3 
Fuels and mining products 492.5 478.8 140.7 125.9 346.7 344.6 296.2 289.6 50.5 55.0 
Fuels 402.5 384.9 110.1 95.5 288.0 281.6 245.6 234.9 42.5 46.8 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 58 - 
 
   Destinations 
Reporter 
(origin) World Developed 
economies Developing economies 
Total Developing 
Asia Other 
product 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 2012 2014 
Non-fuel 
minerals 90.0 94.0 30.6 30.3 58.7 63.0 50.7 54.8 8.0 8.2 
Manufactures 3670.4 4098.5 1691.1 1849.5 1868.0 2130.3 1346.7 1530.4 521.2 599.9 
Iron and steel 122.2 139.4 37.8 44.2 80.8 92.0 54.8 60.3 26.1 31.6 
Office & 
telecom 
equipment 995.9 1116.9 476.6 505.0 507.7 600.0 444.1 521.5 63.7 78.5 
Automotive products 168.7 184.9 67.4 79.7 88.0 94.4 36.9 38.8 51.0 55.5 
Textiles 159.0 180.7 53.0 59.3 99.3 114.7 60.6 71.9 38.7 42.8 
Clothing 244.9 288.4 172.5 195.9 58.0 72.2 25.4 32.7 32.5 39.5 
Total 
merchandise 4551.7 4950.6 1965.2 2103.5 2455.4 2708.8 1816.2 1986.1 639.1 722.6 
Source: WTO Secretariat. WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 59 - 
 
  APPENDIX 7: COMPOSITION OF REPORTER AND PARTNER GROUPS 
DEVELOPING ECONOMIES include 
 
Latin America (including the Caribbean):  
 
 Mexico (classified within North America in the International Trade Statistics 
publication); 
 Central America:  Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and 
Panama; 
 South America:  Argentina; Bolivia, Plurinational State of; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; 
Ecuador; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Uruguay; Venezuela, Bolivarian 
Republic of; 
 The Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba (the Netherlands with respect to), 
Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, 
Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines; and Trinidad and Tobago. 
 Other countries and territories in Latin America n.e.s. 
 
Developing Europe:  
 
Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Monteneg ro; Serbia; the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia and Turkey. 
 
Africa:  
 
 North Africa:  Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.  
 Sub-Saharan Africa:  Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; 
Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Comoros; Côte d'Ivoire; 
Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; the Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Mali; Malawi; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; 
Nigeria; Rwanda; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; 
Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan;  Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; 
Togo; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe. 
 
Middle East:  
 
Bahrain, Kingdom of; Iraq; Iran; Israel; Jordan; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Kuwait, 
the State of; Lebanese Republic; Oman; Qata r; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab 
Emirates; and Yemen. 
 
Developing Asia:  
 
Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Fiji; 
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong, China); India; 
Indonesia; Kiribati; Korea, Republic of; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Maldives; Macau, China; Malaysia; Micronesia, Federated States of; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; 
Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; 
Sri Lanka; Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei);Thailand; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; Viet Nam; and other countries and territories in Asia and the Pacific n.e.s. 
 WT/COMTD/W/212 
 
- 60 - 
 
  THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUN TRIES (LDCs) include: 
 
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, 
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, 
Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, 
Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, 
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Timor-Leste, 
Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zambia. 
Note: the LDCs is a sub-group of developing economies in the report. 
 
 
DEVELOPED ECONOMIES include: 
 
North America (excluding Mexico for this report): 
 
Bermuda, Canada, United States of America, and territories in North America n.e.s. 
 
Developed Europe:  
 
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, 
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, 
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland s, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, 
Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and 
territories in Europe n.e.s. 
 
Developed Asia:  
 
Australia, Japan and New Zealand. 
  
THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS) include: 
 
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, 
Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turk menistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. 
  
THE NICs (6) or "Six East -Asian traders" include: 
 
Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Singapore; Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei); and Thailand. 
 
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