Why did the Phoenicians trade?

Answer 1

Trade or commerce -- the buying and selling of goods, especially on a large scale between geographic areas -- is economic and necessity driven. What one area has, it exports/trades for what it doesn't have/needs or wants. And vice versa. So it's a means of obtaining goods and earning wealth.

The Phoenicians were a maritime society and thus trade was a natural extension. They and the Greeks dominated commerce of the Mediterranean in and around 1400 to 1200 BCE.

Answer 2

For the same reason we trade money for items. They wanted it, the cultures didnt have a monetary system yet, so they traded other items to get the things that they wanted.