G-20 international merchandise trade falls

G-20 international merchandise trade contracted for the first time in two years in the third quarter of 2022 due to a slowdown in global demand and a retreat in commodity prices, the Organization for Economic CoOperation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday.

Measured in US dollars, exports and imports decreased by 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter.

"It is too early to draw any concrete conclusions, however this latest development in G20 merchandise trade deserves further monitoring as the global economy confronts multiple headwinds, including monetary tightening, receding commodity prices, and cooling demand," said Paul Schreyer, OECD's chief statistician.

Falling oil prices weakened merchandise exports in North America in July-September, with the US and Mexico posting slower growth than in the previous quarters. In the EU, merchandise exports and imports fell 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively, in the same period.

The OECD stressed that merchandise trade remained weak in East Asia, despite the increased sales of electronics and machinery. Japan's exports dropped 0.3% quarter-on-quarter and Korea's was down 1% in three months to September. On the other hand, Chinese exports ticked up 0.7% in the same period.

G-20 services trade growth maintained its downward trend in the third quarter with exports and imports rising 0.3% and 1.7%, respectively, as the value of transport services was cut by falling shipping costs.

The Pitcairn Islands, a volcanic outcrop halfway between South America and New Zealand, is the UK's only overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean and home to only 46 people.

One of the most remote places on Earth, all its inhabitants live in the capital Adamstown.

But even here, islanders have not escaped the drama that has dominated British politics since 2016 -- Brexit.

Pitcairn has its own well-equipped medical facility and a resident doctor.

For emergencies and longer-term conditions, however, the nearest hospitals are in French Polynesia, some 1,350 miles (2,170 kilometres) to the northwest, and New Zealand, 3,300 miles southwest.

With no access to the islands by air, that can mean at least two days' sailing, depending on weather conditions.

Pitcairn's mayor Charlene Warren fears vulnerable islanders could fall foul of restrictions usually associated with the length of time UK holidaymakers and those with second homes can stay in European Union member states.

"Brexit has definitely affected us for going to Tahiti (the largest island in French Polynesia) because we're no longer in the European Union," she told AFP. "We're now only limited to three months in Tahiti, which with some medical issues that we have can roll over three months."

For Pitcairn's aging population healthcare is a pressing concern, even with recent support from the government in London, particularly through Covid. Next month, there will be no minors left on the island when the last three schoolchildren, their mothers and their teacher leave Adamstown for New Zealand.

More than half of the remaining population will be aged over 60.

The Pitcairn Islands were colonised in 1790 by the mutinous crew of the Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty, led by the master's mate Fletcher Christian.

Their actions, casting adrift the ship's captain William Bligh, have been immortalised in books and film.

Its people are descended from the mutineers and their Tahitian companions, whose history since has been one of hardy self-sufficiency.

On Pitcairn-the only inhabited island of four scattered hundreds of miles across the ocean-there is only one grocery store, open three times a week for two hours at a time.

Supplies come every three months by cargo ship. There are only two metalled roads and no hotels.

King Charles III is head of state and the UK government is responsible for defence and foreign relations, controlling the 830,000 square kilometres (320,000 square miles) of sea around the islands.

The islanders have British passports, govern through an elected mayor and an island council, with a governor based in New Zealand.