All exercise questions (and the in-text question asked within the chapter) from the NCERT textbook Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 8, “International Trade”, exactly as the English edition prints them, with a full model answer for each. Try your own answer first, then check it against this one.
1 Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below
Q. Most of the world’s great ports are classified as:
(a) Naval Ports (b) Oil Ports (c) Comprehensive Ports (d) Industrial Ports
Answer: (c) Comprehensive Ports. The chapter states directly, under Comprehensive Ports, that “such ports handle bulk and general cargo in large volumes. Most of the world’s great ports are classified as comprehensive ports.” Naval Ports have only strategic importance, Oil Ports handle only the processing and shipping of oil, and Industrial Ports specialise only in bulk cargo like grain, sugar, ore and chemicals; none of these three is described as the classification most of the world’s great ports fall under.
Q. Which one of the following continents has the maximum flow of global trade?
(a) Asia (b) North America (c) Europe (d) Africa
Answer: (c) Europe. Note: the 2026-27 edition of this chapter gives no continent-wise trade figures, so the book’s own text does not settle this question. Europe is given here as the answer key with that caveat.
2 Answer the following questions in about 30 words
Q. What is the basic function of the World Trade Organisation?
Answer: The WTO is the only international organisation dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. It sets the rules for the global trading system, resolves disputes between its member nations, and also covers trade in services and issues such as intellectual rights.
Q. Why is it detrimental for a nation to have negative balance of payments?
Answer: A negative balance means a country’s imports are worth more than its exports, so it spends more on buying goods than it can earn by selling its own goods. This would ultimately lead to exhaustion of the country’s financial reserves.
Q. What benefits do nations get by forming trading blocs?
Answer: Regional trade blocs encourage trade between countries with geographical proximity, similarity and complementarities in trading items, and help curb restrictions on trade of the developing world. They also remove trade tariffs within their member nations and encourage free trade among them.
3 Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words
Q. How are ports helpful for trade? Give a classification of ports on the basis of their location.
Answer: The chief gateways of the world of international trade are the harbours and ports; cargoes and travellers pass from one part of the world to another through them. Ports provide facilities of docking, loading, unloading and storage for cargo, and port authorities maintain navigable channels, arrange tugs and barges, and provide labour and managerial services. The importance of a port is judged by the size of cargo and the number of ships it handles, and the quantity of cargo handled is itself an indicator of the level of development of the port’s hinterland. On the basis of location, ports are of two types. Inland Ports are located away from the sea coast and are linked to the sea through a river or a canal, accessible to flat-bottom ships or barges: for example, Manchester (linked with a canal), Memphis (on the river Mississippi), Mannheim and Duisburg (on the Rhine), and Kolkata (on the river Hoogli, a branch of the river Ganga). Out Ports are deep-water ports built away from the actual ports, serving the parent ports by receiving ships too large to approach them directly; the classic example given is Athens and its out port, Piraeus, in Greece.
Q. How do nations gain from International Trade?
Answer: International trade is based on the principle of comparative advantage, complementarity and the transferability of goods and services, and in principle should be mutually beneficial to the trading partners. Undertaking international trade is mutually beneficial to nations if it leads to regional specialisation, a higher level of production, a better standard of living, worldwide availability of goods and services, equalisation of prices and wages, and diffusion of knowledge and culture. With well-developed transportation and communication systems, no country is willing to forego the benefits derived from participation in international trade. However, the chapter also cautions that trade can prove detrimental to nations if it leads to dependence on other countries, uneven levels of development, exploitation, and commercial rivalry leading to wars, and that unchecked growth in trade can also harm the environment.
4 In-text question (asked within the chapter)
Q. Think of some reasons why dumping is becoming a serious concern among trading nations?
Answer: Dumping means selling a commodity in two countries at a price that differs for reasons not related to costs. It is becoming a serious concern because: (i) with free trade and lower tariffs, dumped goods of cheaper prices enter markets easily and can harm domestic producers, who cannot compete with such artificially low prices; (ii) local industries may then shut down, causing loss of jobs and income in the importing country; (iii) once domestic producers are pushed out, the importing country becomes dependent on the exporting country, which is one of the ways the chapter says international trade can prove detrimental; and (iv) it creates an unequal playing field, so developing countries in particular need to stay cautious about dumped goods while opening up their markets.