Press releases

Trade promotion organizations support free access to ITC’s Trade Map

13 June 2013
ITC News
New ITC partnership with six trade promotion organizations continues to give businesses in low-income economies access to crucial export and import data

Funding from six trade promotion organizations (TPOs) in high-income countries will contribute to ensuring that businesses in developing countries have continued free usage of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) Trade Map database, including access to information on potential trading partners in more than 60 countries. This funding of Trade Map, an online database of trade statistics combined with a directory of exporters and importers, forms a central part of a new initiative launched by ITC to increase exports, income and employment opportunities in developing countries.

Advantage Austria, the Italian Trade Promotion Agency (ICE), New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development in Oman, Qatar Development Bank and Ubifrance are all participants in ITC’s first North-South TPO partnership for development programme, launched on 12 June. The programme is aimed at boosting exports from developing countries by providing businesses with access to trade data that can facilitate new partnerships.

‘This initiative is a building block towards further trade and development partnership initiatives between ITC and TPOs,’ said Mr Jean-Marie Paugam, ITC’s Acting Executive Director. ‘It is based on the promotion of “win-win” exchanges between TPOs from high-income countries and TPOs from lower-income countries. These include the sharing of information through our respective websites, ad hoc joint technical assistance and joint trade promotion events.’

The six TPOs have agreed to fund access to the profiles of 550,000 companies on ITC’s Trade Map database. Small and medium-sized enterprises in developing economies will be able to use the data to identify import and export markets and choose potential company partners. Users in developing and least developed countries represent more than 80% of the 300,000 registered users of Trade Map.

Trade Map is one of ITC’s market-analysis tools and covers trade flows of more than 220 countries and territories. It offers data on 5,600 products and provides information on trade indicators such as values, quantities, indices, trends, market shares, unit values and market concentrations. In addition to helping companies identify new export markets, ITC’s tools also assist policymakers in monitoring national trade performance and preparing for trade negotiations.

For further information, please visit the Trade Map home page (Trade map)
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