World trade hit a record $32 trillion in 2022, but growth turned negative in the last half of the year. Environmentally friendly products defied the trend.
© Shutterstock/Jacques Tarnero
Global trade was worth a record $32 trillion in 2022, but amid deteriorating economic conditions and rising uncertainties, growth turned negative in the last half of the year and is set to stagnate in the first half of 2023.
The silver lining was the strong performance of trade in “green goods”, whose growth held strong throughout the year, says UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update, published on 23 March.
Green goods, also called “environmentally friendly goods”, refer to products that are designed to use fewer resources or emit less pollution than their traditional counterparts.
Defying the downward trend, trade in such goods grew by about 4% in the second half of the year….
