ISLAMABAD, Nov 18: The Asia-Pacific region needs to adopt inclusive strategies instead of export-led growth model, as merchandise exports and imports of the regional countries will grow less than six per cent in real terms in 2013, a new United Nations report estimates on Monday.

However, a modest improvement of 7pc in both merchandise exports and imports is expected in 2014, according to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2013, titled ‘Turning the Tide: Towards Inclusive Trade and Investment’.

Amongst the report’s findings, regional demand was shown not to be exempt to enduring weakness in major external economies.

The report, published by UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), says that the Asia-Pacific region continues to outperform the rest of the world in the pace of overall growth, with trade-led expansion continuing to feed the region’s economic dynamism. Yet, strong trade- and investment-led growth in the region has been accompanied by rising inequalities.

The report estimates that the share of Pakistan’s merchandise in world trade was 0.2pc, while its share in Asia-Pacific merchandise trade was 0.5pc in 2011. On the other hand, the merchandise exports over GDP were 14.5pc in 2011. Among the regional countries, FDI inflows into Pakistan declined by 34.4pc in 2011.

For commercial services, Asia and the Pacific registered the highest growth rates for exports and imports in the world, at 5.2pc and 5.9pc, respectively. These rates were, however, less than half of the rates achieved in 2011, the report says. FDI inflows continue to head towards the developing Asia-Pacific economies. Developing Asia-Pacific economies alone account for 33pc of global inflows. However, FDI inflows to the East and North-East Asian sub-region were down 8pc from the previous year to $215 billion in 2012. China, however, continues to attract impressive levels of FDI; investments in 2012 totalled $121bn.

Prolonged crisis has not caused a massive recourse to protectionism, according to ESCAP. Many countries have refrained from introducing protectionist measures despite crisis-induced pressures.