New UNCTAD data shows renewed growth in the trade of information, communication and technology (ICT) goods in 2013. However, whereas communication equipment and electronic components expanded, trade in consumer electronics and computers fell.
Exports of ICT goods – products such as mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, integrated circuits and various other parts and components – picked up in 2013 with an annual growth rate of 5 per cent to reach US$1.9 trillion (table 1). ICT goods grew slightly faster than total merchandise trade, representing 11 per cent of exports and 12 per cent of imports, with communication equipment being the main growth driver. Communication equipment's share in total imports of ICT goods has continued to expand from about 13 per cent in the early 2000s to 24 per cent in 2013. In nominal terms, such imports amounted to US$500 billion (table 2). For the first time, developing countries’ imports of communication equipment in 2013 overtook computer and peripheral equipment as the largest subcomponent (chart 1).
China, China Hong Kong SAR, the United States and the Republic of Korea are the world's top exporters of communication equipment. Together they accounted for 65 per cent of such exports in 2013. As shown in table 3, exports of communication equipment the same year also grew fast in a number of other developing and transition economies such as Viet Nam and Cambodia (South-Eastern Asia), Saudi Arabia and Turkey (Western Asia), South Africa and Mauritius (Africa), Russian Federation (transition economy), Chile and Costa Rica (Latin America). European economies, including Cyprus and Poland, also expanded their exports of communication equipment.
The regions in which communication equipment represented the largest import component of ICT goods are: Western Asia (48 per cent), Southern Asia (43 per cent), and Africa (40 per cent) (chart 2). In developed countries, computers and peripheral equipment accounted for the largest share. Electronic components remained the most prominent import category of ICT goods in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, in which the main ICT goods manufacturing centres are found.
The top ten economies by proportion of ICT goods in total merchandise trade are depicted in table 4. As compared to 2010, the proportion of ICT goods has declined in most of the top 10 economies, with the notable exception of Viet Nam. Apart from Costa Rica and Malta, all economies in the top ten list are Asian. Meanwhile, in terms of the ten economies in which ICT goods accounted for the highest share of merchandise imports, the only non-Asian entries in 2013 were Costa Rica, Paraguay and Mexico.
China remained the uncontested leader in terms of absolute levels of exports and imports of ICT goods, with sustained growth and a highly specialized merchandise trade (table 5). Sluggish or negative growth rates were the norm for the other top 10 leading traders of ICT goods. In this group, developed economies remained significant importers, albeit with ICT goods not representing more than 13 per cent of their merchandise imports. Mexico maintained its position as the Latin American lead trader in ICT goods.
