APEC illustration for trade activity. (Antara/HO-APEC Secretariat) JAKARTA - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, home to half of the world's trade, posted double-digit growth both in trade volume and value during the January-September 2021 period, according to an update of the APEC Policy Support Unit report. The volume of APEC's merchandise exports and imports increased by 14 percent and 16 percent respectively as compared to the same period last year, when these were in the negative zone, said a written statement issued by the APEC Policy Support Unit and received here on Thursday. Meanwhile, the value of merchandise trade rose to 28.2 percent for exports and 27.3 percent for imports, driven by higher costs of fuel and manufactured products. The update highlights that the reasons for this surge are the combined effect of a rebound in economic activity, marked by a spike in demand as well as a low base, since trade contracted in the last couple of years. Addin