Global shipper Maersk sees trade growth among BRICS nations

BEIJING - Containerized trade among BRICS nations saw robust growth in the first half of this year, according to the world's largest container shipping company Maersk Line.

Demand has improved as most of the world's major economies started to recover this year, and the growth among BRICS countries continued to outpace the global average, said Mike Fang, managing director for Maersk Line's Greater China Cluster.

"There is much potential to enable trade among BRICS nations and we will definitely look into it," he said in a statement.

Maersk's exports from China to India increased 26.2 percent year-on-year in the first half, those to Brazil and South Africa both rose 8.7 percent, while Maersk's imports from South Africa to China surged 43.9 percent, according to Fang.

The company's statistics showed customers in other BRICS countries were most attracted to Chinese textiles and clothing, consumer electronics and furniture.

While China's imports still focused on raw materials and resources, Maersk saw increases in the imports of meat from Brazil as well as fruit and nuts from South Africa.

E-commerce developed very fast with other BRICS countries' products gaining traction on the Chinese market, Fang said.

Customs data showed a 37.7-percent year-on-year growth in China's imports from other BRICS countries in the first seven months of this year, faster than the 28.7-percent increase in exports to those countries.

Grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS accounted for 23 percent of the 2016 global economy, almost double their share in 2006, and contributed to more than half of global growth.