Brexit won’t damage emerging markets, finds Agility survey

A quarter of global supply chain professionals think Brexit will benefit emerging markets against 12 per cent who think it will damage them, according to a study for Agility.

The research by Transport Intelligence found that nearly 45 per cent of executives believe emerging markets will be largely unaffected by Brexit.

A similar survey last year found that 69 per cent of executives were worried that the UK’s Brexit vote and breakdown of regional and global trade talks signalled a retreat from free trade.

“The big worry a year ago was that the Brexit vote and US election results represented a desire to pull back from free trade and that an anti-trade backlash would hurt emerging markets economies,” says Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive of Agility Global Integrated Logistics. “Those concerns have waned, especially when it comes to Brexit.”

The 2018 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index is an annual ranking of the world’s 50 leading emerging markets as measured by size, economic strength, infrastructure, transport connections and business climate.

China and India top the 2018 rankings and put more distance between themselves and third placed UAE. Brazil slipped two places to ninth.

Russia climbed three spots to seventh while Turkey slipped one place to No 10.

John Manners-Bell, chief executive of Ti, said: “Emerging markets enjoyed favourable market conditions in 2017 with trade growth the healthiest in years. However, there are many storylines yet to fully unfold, such as China’s debt, the renegotiation of NAFTA and on-going political and economic transition in the Middle East. While the going looks good for now, there are numerous challenges on the horizon.”