An analysis of expected changes in international trade volumes and their implications for Maltese businesses

Abstract

The Maltese domestic market is relatively small and the future scope for growth for a number of Maltese businesses is global. More and more local businesses should be looking at trading internationally. Malta is ideally situated in an important trade corridor between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and this in itself creates a huge opportunity for Maltese businesses to foster their international trading. International trade is constantly growing and changing, and with it new trade markets are created. More countries will open their borders and opportunities will arise. This study explores future trade forecasts to identify the countries that will be the major players in international trade and will identify those countries with which Maltese businesses should be trading. Over the next decade, growth in world trade will be mainly driven through emerging economies that will interact with other emerging economies. For this reason it is important for Maltese businesses to start adapting to this new form of trade. We will have a situation where market opportunities to businesses open up even more, and new suppliers and buyers should be sought overseas. There is also the case where international business shifts from developed to faster growing markets, which is one of the main topics of this dissertation. This dissertation also explores the different financial trade products that are best suited to facilitate this growth and also mitigate the risk involved in conducting international business. The Global crisis and closer to home, the Eurozone crisis, has made economies fragile and has made business and consumers nervous about trading internationally. The use of the appropriate financial trade products eases this nervousness and fosters growth in trade.