Southeast Asia drives growth in intraregional trade in Asia
The previous issue of the RCI Digest said that, while the share of intraregional trade in developing Asia reached a historic high of 47.3% in 2010, intraregional trade within its various subregions actually fell in 2010 compared with 2005. This trend shows that trade across subregions was the main driver of increased intraregional trade. The share of trade across subregions rose from 14.7% of total trade in 2001 to 19.6% in 2010. All subregions in developing Asia recorded increased trade with each other, with Southeast Asia’s exports to other subregions rising from 20.2% of total exports in 2001 to 30.8% in 2010. Southeast Asia’s net exports to the rest of developing Asia surged to $56 billion in 2010 from $13.3 in 2008, while net exports of East Asia (excluding Japan) plunged from $69 billion to $26.5 billion over the same period.
