The impacts of the global economic crisis on selected segments of the world trade in commodities

Abstract

This paper deals with the impacts of the economic crisis on the world trade in order to highlight the mutual interdependence of the development of the world output and trade. The paper observes mutual correlation in development of the world trade and output. The results of the analysis indicate that changes in the value of world GDP and world trade are correlated by more than 90%. It is important to mention that in the years 2000–2009, the value of world trade and world output increased significantly (although in 2009, a significant decline in both value and volume of global production and trade was recorded due to the crisis). In relation to the world trade, it should be noted that its commodity structure is dominated by trade in manufactures. The crisis that occurred in the period 2008–2009 greatly affected the world economy and trade in particular. In this respect it should be pointed out that the crisis mainly affected trade in manufactures and then trade in fuels and mining outputs in terms of both absolute and relative indicators. Agrarian trade dealt with the crisis the best and the impact of the crisis on development of its values and volume was the least significant. This verifies the fact that agrarian and food products tend to be the most resistant to the crisis (on contrary, in times of global economic growth or reconstruction, the trade in agrarian and food products shows lower degree of elasticity in relation to the global GDP growth in comparison to other segments of commodities trade).