DOING BUSINESS IN OIC COUNTRIES

Doing Business in OIC Countries - OIC ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2015 “PROMOTING INVESTMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT”


Trade of the OIC Member Countries

The total OIC exports fell sharply by 25.4 percent from USD 2.2 trillion in 2014 to USD 1.6 trillion in 2015. The low level of growth in the region, the decrease in oil prices and the depreciation of local currencies are among the important reasons which contributed to the decrease in exports in the OIC region.

On the other hand, the total OIC imports, which continued to increase in the 2012 - 2014 period, fell by 7.4 per cent to USD 1.8 trillion in 2015. Thus, the total OIC trade fell by 16 percent from USD 4.1 trillion in 2014 to USD 3.4 trillion in 2015.

Two characteristics of the total OIC exports still constitute a risk for the future: First is the dominant role of mineral fuels in exports. The share of mineral fuels, oils and distillation products in the OIC exports was 47.4 percent in 2015. The fluctuations in oil prices constitute a considerable risk for oil exporters. Second is that the top ten OIC countries in terms of their trade volume and value have constituted 70 % of all OIC trade with the world in 2015. Thus, the majority of the Member States has a limited foreign trade volume, and highly depends on the exports of a few commodities.

Developments in Intra-OIC Trade

Despite its high potential, intra-OIC trade is below the desired level, due to some structural problems. Protectionist trade policies, high tariffs, non-tariff barriers, weak trade related logistics and infrastructure, underutilized trade financing and insurance mechanisms are major problems faced in the region. Moreover, many member countries do not have sufficient financial resources or sound payment and banking systems. Despite these challenges, after remaining roughly constant between 2012 and 2014, averaging 18.5 percent, the share of intra-OIC trade increased to 20 percent in 2015.

In 2015, intra-OIC exports accounted for 21.1 percent of the total OIC exports, while intra OIC imports accounted for 20.2 percent of the total OIC imports. Figure 4 shows the trends in intra-OIC trade since 2005.

- - Annual Economic Report 2007 on the OIC Countries

- - OIC Economic Outlook 2016

- - OIC Economic Outlook 2015

- - Annual Rapport on Intra-OIC Trade 2015-2016

- - COMCEC Coordination Office CCO Brief on Trade 2016

- - COMCEC Trade Outlook 2016

- - Global Islamic Economy Report 2014 - 2015

- - 14th Private Sector Meeting for the Promotion of Trade and Joint Venture Investment among Islamic Countries 2011

- - Economic Performance of the OIC Countries and the prospect an Islamic Common Market 2010