Approximately 70% of all Fortune 500 companies bartering on a regular basis equating to billions of dollars of transactions annually.
Barter is also an essential business tool which increases during times of financial depression as conventional money becomes harder to obtain. As labor and unused production capacity becoming more readily available and businesses start seeking alternate means to meet their purchasing needs - barter transactions rise.
According to the World Trade Organization 15% of world trade is conducted on a non-cash basis. This includes direct barter, gift-culture, counter-trade/reciprocal trade (often found between governments and multi-national organizations) and non-government currencies (community currencies, regional currencies, gift vouchers, loyalty points & air-points) and is therefore worth approximately USD $2.79 trillion dollars of the estimated USD $18.6 trillion dollars of world trade (2004 World Bank figures).
More recent figures are currently unavailable but it is known that global trade rose in 2004 by 21% (world merchandise exports rose by 16% to $7.3 trillion, while commercial services followed closely with a growth rate of 12% to $1.8 trillion) and it is estimated that this rise has carried steadily onwards through to 2006, making non-cash trade forecast at between $3.37 trillion (2005) and $4.08 trillion (2006).
Officials of the GATT organization, claim that counter-trade alone accounts for around 5% of the world trade. The British Department of Trade and Industry has suggested 15%, while numerous scholars believe it to be closer to 30%, with east-west trade having been as high as 50% in some trading sectors of Eastern European and Third World Countries.
A consensus of expert opinions (Okaroafo, 1989) has put the percentage of the value of world trade volumes linked to counter-trade transactions at between 20% to 25%.
Copying and distributing this article
Ormita provides free updates about the generic benefits of barter to those interested in local currency, community currency, countertrade, reciprocal trade, barter exchange, time dollars, hours and other forms of community trade vehicles.
You may freely copy and distribute this article provided that you attribute the author and/ or source as the Ormita Commerce Network.
About Ormita
The Ormita Commerce Network spans 5 continents, with direct representation in more than 17 countries plus additional partnerships in a further 59 countries. The business allows companies to exchange goods and services on a reciprocal trade arrangement.
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