International Trade of Meat, Petroleum & Automobiles
From the overland Silk Road across Eurasia to the maritime routes along the Indian Ocean, long-distance or international trade has been an essential part of social and economic development throughout history. This article explores the international trade of several major goods in the contemporary era.
International Trade of Meat, Petroleum & Automobiles
Non-frozen bovine meat, steak, red meat, and/or beef is the world’s 157th most traded product, whereas crude petroleum is the most traded product and automobiles are the second most traded good. In the case of bovine meat, global trade totaled US$20.9 billion during 2015. That same year, the largest exporter of bovine meat was Europe, particularly the Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany, with 49% of all international sales totaling US$10.3 billion. This was followed by North America, mainly the United States and Canada, which dominated 24% or US$5 billion of the global export market. In terms of bovine meat imports, the largest buyer was also Europe, purchasing 57% or US$12 billion of the global beef production in 2015. Once again, Europe was succeeded by North America accounting for 22% or US$4.5 billion of all red meat imports.
Meanwhile, the global crude petroleum market traded a total of US$739 billion in 2015. Furthermore, crude petroleum alone represents the main export of many national economies, including Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Venezuela. Simultaneously, crude petroleum is the main import of several countries, namely China, South Korea, India, Spain, Poland, Thailand, South Africa, Portugal, Finland, and Greece. In 2015, the world’s largest exporters of crude petroleum were Saudi Arabia with 14% of the market or US$101 billion and Russia representing 12% or US$90 billion. In terms of crude petroleum exports during 2015, they were followed by Canada (6.8%), Iraq (6.4%), the UAE (6.3%), and Nigeria (5.0%). As it relates to crude petroleum imports during 2015, the United States bought US$120 billion and China another US$119, each accounting for 16% of international purchases (respectively). They were followed by India with 8.7% or US$64.6 billion worth of crude petroleum imports and South Korea representing 6.8% or US$50.6 billion.
Lastly, automobiles or cars, from golf carts to snowmobiles, make up the second most traded good internationally with an aggregate trade of US$680 billion during 2015. Similarly, automobiles alone represent the main export of several national economies, specifically Germany, Japan, Mexico, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Morocco. Furthermore, cars are the main import good for the following countries: the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Turkey, and Russia. In 2015, the largest exporters of cars worldwide were Germany accounting for 23% of the market or US$154 billion and Japan totaling 14% or US$93.6 billion. That same year, within the automobiles export market, Germany and Japan were succeeded by the United States (8.4%), Canada (6.6%), South Korea (6.2%), and the United Kingdom (6.0%). Finally, the world’s largest car importers during 2015 were the United States with US$169 billion or 25% of the imports market and the United Kingdom with US$50 billion or 7.3%.