LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Commonwealth countries lost up to US$345 billion in trade last year as the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global economic slump, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The Commonwealth Trade Review found the pandemic caused US$1.15 trillion in lost economic activity in one year.

Commonwealth economies shrank by roughly 10 per cent during the pandemic, with developing countries suffering the most, the study said.

The Commonwealth, an association of 54 nations and 2.4 billion people headed by Queen Elizabeth II, includes many developing economies that suffered acutely during the pandemic.

Small Caribbean island nations dependent on tourism and travel experienced the greatest economic shock, with their exports shrinking by almost 20 per cent.

The Commonwealth also lost US$153 billion of foreign direct investment in 2020. It declined most precipitously in Australia and Rwanda, which both recorded 50 per cent drops in investment from their average levels between 2017 and 2019.

Foreign direct investment in Commonwealth countries is predicted to fall by 18 per cent this year and by seven per cent in 2022.

It is expected to be US$220 billion lower next year than it was in 2019.

But Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said member states could harness a “Commonwealth advantage” of familiar administrative and legal systems and the English language as a “post-pandemic tailwind to accelerate recovery”. 

According to the Commonwealth, trade between member countries costs 21 per cent less on average. 

Last year saw US$60 billion of lost intra-Commonwealth trade, which dropped to a 10-year low, but the Commonwealth’s global exports are expected to reach US$3.76 trillion in 2021 and US$3.94 trillion next year.

“Trade can offer positive solutions to manage the pandemic,” Scotland added.

Digital commerce and new technologies were cited as tools to achieve a sustainable and inclusive recovery.

The report comes after the Commonwealth warned that the inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines would hit developing countries in the Caribbean and Pacific and Indian Oceans hardest.

The review added that the global health crisis has disproportionately affected countries with the most fragile economies, societies and healthcare systems, imperilling the pursuit of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Last month, the Group of Seven (G7) most developed democracies committed to donating one billion vaccine doses to poorer countries in the next year.

But the United Nations, World Health Organization and campaign groups have called on rich nations to pledge 11 billion doses and waive vaccine patents to end the pandemic sooner.