Growing Together: Economic Integration for an Inclusive and - escap

TABLE TITLE
II.2. Distribution of Asia-Pacific merchandise exports, by subregion, 2000 and 2010
Percentage
of exports from
To
East and
North-East Asia South-East Asia
2000
South and
South-West Asia
Source: ESCAP based on data from International Monetary Fund, Direction of Trade Statistics.
North and
Central Asia Pacific
Asia and the Pacific 65.8 23.4 4.6 1.5 4.7
East and North-East Asia 70.9 21.5 3.2 0.5 4.0
South-East Asia 57.5 33.4 4.0 0.2 4.9
South and South-West Asia 56.3 18.2 17.2 5.8 2.6
North and Central Asia 46.3 3.9 21.7 28.0 0.1
Pacific 63.1 16.0
2010
4.7 0.4 15.8
Asia and the Pacific 60.8 21.1 9.2 4.0 5.0
East and North-East Asia 64.4 19.6 7.2 4.3 4.4
South-East Asia 53.7 31.7 7.1 0.9 6.7
South and South-West Asia 49.0 14.3 27.4 7.4 1.9
North and Central Asia 50.4 8.2 24.9 16.0 0.6
Pacific 70.9 11.1 7.4 0.5 10.0
9.2 per cent and that of North and Central Asia
from 1.5 to 4.0 per cent (table II.2).
Table II.2 also shows that East and North-
East Asia is the main export market for all
the Asia-Pacific subregions (including East
and North-East Asia itself). In addition, South
and South-West Asia is now the second
largest subregional export market for North
and Central Asia. It is also noticeable that
intra-subregional trade decreased for all the
subregions between 2000 and 2010, with the
exception of South and South-West Asia, as
export opportunities across the subregions
became more important. In other words,
export opportunities between the subregions
are becoming more important over time.
The merchandise trade data from the region
also show significant changes at the level
of individual countries, with China notably
surpassing Japan as the region’s largest
exporter and importer. Between 2000 and
2010, exports from China grew at an annual
average rate of 17 per cent to reach $1.83
trillion, or 32 per cent of the region’s exports.
Over the same period, the country’s imports
grew even more spectacularly, by 19 per cent
annually, to reach $1.27 trillion, or 24 per cent
of the region’s imports. India was another
economy in the region that experienced rapid
trade growth; its exports grew on average by
18 per cent annually during that time period
to reach $242 billion, or 4 per cent of the
region’s exports, while its imports expanded
by 25 per cent to $349 billion, accounting for
7 per cent of the region’s total in 2010. This
made India the region’s fifth-largest importer
after China; Japan; Hong Kong, China; and the
Republic of Korea.
An export opportunities indicator
Growing markets provide opportunities for
both current and new exporters across the
world. In order to assess the prospects and
desirability of further trade liberalization
within the Asia-Pacific region, a new “export
opportunities indicator” developed by ESCAP
identifies which markets are the most promising
for each country in the world. This is based
on the assumption that it is easier for exporters
to enter and expand sales in a market that is
growing than in one which is stagnant or
declining. The value of the indicator for each
destination country represents the potential
annual increase, measured in billions of dollars,
in imports from industries in which the source
country is internationally competitive. This
does not mean, of course, that the exporting
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