Global trade set to grow 8% in 2021 after pandemic shock: WTO

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Global trade is set for a strong but uneven recovery this year after shrinking less than expected during the Covid-19 pandemic shock in 2020, the WTO said Wednesday.

"According to new estimates from the WTO, the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to increase by 8.0 percent in 2021 after having fallen 5.3 percent in 2020," the World Trade Organization said in a statement.

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A year ago, the global trade body had cautioned that world trade could plummet by a third in 2020 due to the pandemic, but had already revised that estimate to an expected 9.2 percent drop.