WTO: Medical Goods Trade Soars 16.3 Percent in 2020

WTO: Medical Goods Trade Soars 16.3 Percent in 2020

The WTO Secretariat's latest update includes 2020 trade statistics for medical goods from around 100 economies as well as comparisons with 2019 trade statistics.

The report also includes a special case study on diagnostic reagents and test kits, two critical products for monitoring the prevalence of the virus and which constitute a crucial barometer for governments to determine policies to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Medicines remained the largest category by trade value, with more than 50 per cent of the total share of medical goods both in 2019 and in 2020. The highest share increase was for personal protective products, which accounted for only 13.7 per cent in 2019 but increased to 17.4 per cent in 2020.