Environment and related trade

Global exports of plastics goods have more than doubled in value since 2005, reaching over $1.2 trillion in 2022. This value is comparable to the total merchandise exports of China, the United States of America, or Germany, and is 2.4 times the GDP of the United Arab Emirates, host of the 2023 CoP28 climate summit. 

The volume of plastic exports grew from 218 million tons (MT) in 2005 to 344 MT in 2022. To illustrate, it would take 17.2 million trucks, each carrying 20 tons, to deliver the 2022 global plastics exports to their destination, if carried on road.

In 2022, Asia and Oceania accounted for more than half of global plastics exports totalling 202 million tons (MT), with Europe contributing 27 per cent and the Americas 12 per cent (a significant drop from 21 per cent in 2021). African economies represented less than 1 per cent of global plastics exports. 

Conversely, plastics imports were slightly less concentrated than exports: Asia and Oceania received 41 per cent (130 MT), Europe 33 per cent, and the Americas 22 per cent of global plastics imports. Africa, a net importer of plastics, accounted for a share of 4.8 per cent in global plastics imports.