Which Country Is The Leading Exporter In The World?

A number of countries around the world export different commodities according to their natural resources or expertise in various fields and the demand in the international market; for example oil is the single largest commodity in maximum demand in almost all parts of the world with the Middle East countries and Russia being the major exporters. In matters of agricultural goods Asian countries are the leading exporters along with the USA while Germany and Japan are the principal exporters of technology and machinery in the world.

The leading countries in the matter of exports are mainly the USA, China, Germany, Japan, France, the UK, Canada, Italy and Russia. If one takes in to consideration the net value of the commodities exported then the USA at present is the chief exporter though in recent times China's exports have increased exponentially especially in the fields of textiles and clothing, information and communication technology, chemicals, iron and steel production, automobiles and engineering products and it is expected to be the leading exporter in the world in the next few years.

China is the world's leading steel producing country as well as the largest exporter of steel and accounts for over 35 % of the steel produced globally. With the merger of the two top steel producing companies Mittal Steel and Arcelor in to Arcelor-Mittal the global steel scenario is expected to change but as of now China is way ahead of any competition with production touching 37 million tones per month; compare it with the projected capacity of Arcelor-Mittal which is expected to be 110 million tones annually.

The secret to this growth has been various innovative measures utilized by the Chinese Government involving subsidies and also the extensive deposits of coal, used in the manufacture of steel, mainly found in the northern part of the country which has resulted in the rise of a number of small and medium scale steel plants in China. Some of the major steel producers in China are the Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation (China's largest steel manufacturer) and the Shougang Group.

Traditionally oil production has been associated with the Middle East with Saudi Arabia being the chief oil producing country in the world; today though oil has been discovered in various other countries around the world and it is essentially Russia which has emerged as the leading oil producing country.

According to latest figures released by oil cartel OPEC Russia is at present extracting about 10 million barrels (9.2 in June 2006) in a single month from its various oilfields, which is significantly more than what Saudi Arabia is extracting at the moment; however if reserves are taken in to account than it is presumed that Saudi Arabia is still the primary oil producing country as its oil extraction is seen to be sustainable over a longer period of time as compared to Russia's. Some of the important oil fields in Russia are Samotlor, West Siberia and Romashkino in the Volga-Ural region.

Who are the two leading countries in the world economy today