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0001 GENEVA TIME 9 NOVEMBER 2006 (2301  GMT 8 NOVEMBER ) 
 
PRESS/457 
9 November 2006 
 
(06-5377) 
TRADE STATISTICS  
Rise in fuel prices during 2005 li fts shares of oil-exporters in 
world trade while US trade deficit reaches record level 
The 110-page report gives a detailed overview  of trade developments by region and 
product in 2005. Information on current tr ade flows is complemented by a number of 
tables providing data on longer  term trends in world trade. 
 
“2005 saw a deceleration of world trade caused by a lower economic activity. At a time of 
uncertainty, a strong, rules-based multilateral trading system is the best insurance policy for the 
world economy,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy today on the publication of the WTO 
annual report ‘International Trade Statistics 2006’. “The lingering indecisiveness of the Doha Round further saps the confidence in the multilateral trading system as an engine of economic 
growth and development. It’s time for political action to bring the Round to a successful 
conclusion” added Mr. Lamy.  
 
Key features of world trade developments  in 2005 highlighted in the report 
include: 
 
• Lower economic activity at the global  level caused a deceleration in the 
expansion of world trade in 2005 . Real merchandise exports slowed to 6 per cent 
(from 9.5 per cent in 2004), but continued to rise significantly faster than global 
merchandise output.  
 
• In real terms, trade in manufactured goods was again the most dynamic product 
sector  expanding by 7 per cent while trade in fu els and mining products increased by only 
2.5 per cent, the smallest gain of all sectors in 2005. Exports of agricultural products expanded in real terms by 5.5 per cent and –contrary to the two other sectors- faster than 
in the preceding year. Among the three sectors, agriculture recorded also the largest 
excess margin of trade over output growth.  
 
• Price developments exerted a strong in fluence on global trade patterns in 2005 . 
The further rise in prices of fuels and mining products contrasted with the deceleration in 
export prices for agricultural products and manufactured goods. Prices of all manufactured 
goods were held down by the price decline in electronic goods. PRESS/457 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
END • The impact of the highly divergent price develo pments by sector in 2005 is such that trade 
flows in real or volume terms summar ized above differed sharply from the 
nominal trade developments recorded in current dollar values reported below.  
 
• Largely due to price developments , merchandise trade expanded faster than 
commercial services trade for the third year in a row . The dollar value of world 
merchandise exports rose by 13 per cent to $10.16 trillion and commercial 
services exports rose by 10 pe r cent to $2.41 trillion in 2005. 
 
• Among the world’s fifty leading merchandise exporters, the major suppliers of fuels 
and mining products increased their merc handise exports in dollar terms by at 
least one third : Russian Federation (33 per cent), Saudi Arabia (44 per cent), Iran (35 
per cent), Venezuela (43 per cent), Algeria (47 per cent), Kuwait (57 per cent) and Nigeria 
(36 per cent). Among the major traders exporting manufactured goods, China 
stands out  with an increase of its merchandise exports of 28 per cent in 2005. 
 
• Among the leading commercial services traders, the most dynamic exporters with a 
value increase of 15 per cent or more in 2005  include  China, India, Luxembourg, the 
Russian Federation, Poland, Mexico, Brazil and Hungary . 
 
• The higher fuels prices contributed to  changes in regional trade flows , boosting oil 
exporting economies and stimulating their im port growth of goods and services. The 
Middle East, Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States and South and Central 
America, which export primarily fuels and ot her mining products, recorded a merchandise 
export growth between 35 and 25 per cent in 2005. Imports into these four regions also 
rose much faster than the global average (between 25 and 17 per cent). 
 
• World exports of fuels rose by 41 per cent  to $1.4 trillion in 2005. Its share in world 
merchandise exports reached 13.8 per cent, its highest level in almost two decades. 
 
• Among the manufactured goods, iron and steel and chemicals showed an above 
average trade growth in dollar values  while automotive products, clothing and textiles 
experienced a below average growth in 2005. 
 
• The phase-out of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing had a major 
impact on trade flows in these product groups in 2005 . China, India and Pakistan 
enhanced their role in global exports of textiles and clothing while suppliers from South 
and Central America and Africa lost market shares. 
 
• Oil–exporting economies and regions further increased their trade surplus  while 
the United States’ trade deficit rose to $793 billion equivalent to nearly 8 per cent of world 
merchandise exports. 
 
 
The detailed report is available for free online at:  
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/its2006_e/its06_toc_e.htm 
 
For the purchase of the printed version please contact:  
http://onlinebookshop.wto.org/shop/article_details.asp?Id_Article=715