In many developing countries, concerns about safety and ownership of seeds led governments to delay or prohibit cultivation of needed crops: Zambia, for instance, declined shipments of G.M.O.
Union Pacific and other railroads have reported declining shipments of chemicals, grain and other products in December as the United States economy slows.
The announcement comes weeks after the computer firm warned that declining shipments from its modem unit, Psion Dacom, would have a negative effect on sales this year.
The report, which also showed the sixth consecutive month of declining shipments, suggests that the manufacturing slowdown will continue until midyear.
It is finding it hard to slice into Apple's share of the high-end market and facing cut-throat competition from cheaper Android devices.After two years of heavy declines, shipments of personal computers rose in the second quarter according to Gartner, a research firm, albeit by just 0.1%.
Samsung remains at the lead despite declining shipment volume, followed by Apple, Xiaomi, and Lenovo and LG, which tied for fourth place.
Meanwhile Lenovo, the largest PC vendor, saw a 4.2percentnt decline in shipments in Q4 last year, with its shipments dropping 3.1 percentt in 2015 overall.
Second largest PC vendor, HP, weathered a tougher year, with an 8.1percentnt decline in shipments between Q4 2015 and the same quarter in 2014; and a 4.4percentnt shipment slide overall for the year.
Data on Chinese exports included a 16 percent decline in shipments to Europe compared with a year ago.
The decline in shipments was fueled by lower demand for consumer durables like automobiles and investment goods like industrial machinery, the W.T.O. said.
Canada's exports shrank 4.7percentt in January, largely as a result of a decline in shipments of motor vehicles and parts to the United States, Statistics Canada reported.
