Press Release 18/12/2023
In October 2023, exports fell by 0.7% in the Basque Country, the lowest decrease since April
Cumulative exports for the year exceeded 27,000 million euros, 0.2% more than the previous year
In October 2023, and compared to the same month of the previous year, exports of goods from the Basque Country (amounting to 2,814 million euros) recorded a nominal decrease of 0.7%, primarily due to the 35.4% drop in energy products, while non-energy products remained steady with an increase of 2.5%, according to Eustat data.
Imports (2,229 million euros) also registered a downturn, this time of 12.6%. Non-energy imports dropped by 7.6% and energy imports were down 25.0% (although this decrease falls to 22.1% if the year-on-year comparison is made in terms of tonnes imported).
There was a positive trade balance in the order of 584.7 million euros, with a coverage rate of 126.2%.
Evolution of Foreign Trade of goods of the Basque Country. Thousands of euros. October 2023
| EXPORTS | IMPORTS |
| October | October |
| 2022 | 2023 | Increase (%) | 2022 | 2023 | Increase (%) |
BASQUE COUNTRY | | | | | | |
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH | 2.832.731 | 2.813.829 | -0,7 | 2.551.704 | 2.229.097 | -12,6 |
ENERGETIC PRODUCTS | 236.711 | 152.842 | -35,4 | 743.298 | 557.567 | -25,0 |
NON ENERGETIC PRODUCTS | 2.596.020 | 2.660.987 | 2,5 | 1.808.406 | 1.671.530 | -7,6 |
ANNUAL ACCUMULATED | 27.072.085 | 27.112.814 | 0,2 | 24.424.593 | 22.839.709 | -6,5 |
ENERGETIC PRODUCTS | 2.365.087 | 1.340.362 | -43,3 | 7.078.216 | 5.804.936 | -18,0 |
NON ENERGETIC PRODUCTS | 24.706.997 | 25.772.452 | 4,3 | 17.346.377 | 17.034.773 | -1,8 |
| | | | | | |
ARABA / ÁLAVA | | | | | | |
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH | 875.491 | 943.979 | 7,8 | 470.924 | 523.033 | 11,1 |
ANNUAL ACCUMULATED | 7.750.526 | 8.638.870 | 11,5 | 4.689.425 | 5.077.769 | 8,3 |
| | | | | | |
BIZKAIA | | | | | | |
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH | 1.118.317 | 1.026.553 | -8,2 | 1.580.973 | 1.270.032 | -19,7 |
ANNUAL ACCUMULATED | 11.139.148 | 10.119.657 | -9,2 | 14.934.863 | 13.364.365 | -10,5 |
| | | | | | |
GIPUZKOA | | | | | | |
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH | 838.923 | 843.297 | 0,5 | 499.806 | 436.032 | -12,8 |
ANNUAL ACCUMULATED | 8.182.410 | 8.354.287 | 2,1 | 4.800.305 | 4.397.575 | -8,4 |
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
The negative growth rate recorded in October was driven by the fall experienced in the province of Bizkaia, with a decrease of 8.2%, while Álava saw growth of 7.8% and Gipuzkoa 0.5%. In the case of Bizkaia, energy exports were down 35.8% compared to the same month of the previous year, making a cumulative total of eight months of negative rates.
In Álava, most exports were in the month’s two largest customs duty groups: “Transport material” (60.7% of the total), which recorded 10.9% growth and total exports of 573.4 million euros; and “Metals and articles thereof” (14.5% of the total), which fell by 13.9%. For yet another month, significant growth was recorded in “Electrical equipment, machinery and devices” (42.2%), with exports amounting to 63.1 million euros.
In Gipuzkoa, three customs duty groups accounted for three quarters of international trade (75.7%), although they performed differently in the year-on-year comparison: “Electrical equipment, machinery and devices” (up 10.1%), “Transport material” (up 25.1%) and “Metals and articles thereof” (down 15.0%).
Bizkaia saw an upturn in exports of “Transport material” (up 27.6%), but there was a marked decline in “Mineral and energy products” (down 32.6%), with 77.3 million euros less than in the same month of the previous year. The total for this category was 159.7 million euros, which translates to a decrease of 117,000 tonnes.
Source/destination countries, October 2023
In October 2023, the Basque Country’s five biggest customers (Germany, France, Belgium, the United States and the United Kingdom) accounted for 51.2% (1,441.2 million euros) of total exports. Three of these countries are part of the EU27, which accounted for 64.2%.
Germany, with a total of 453.3 million euros, held first place in the export ranking this month. Among the 396 types of products exported, those related to the vehicle sector stood out: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (114.6 million euros), “Goods transport vehicles” (82.9 million euros), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (35.9 million euros) and “New rubber tyres” (22.8 million euros).
Exports to France this month rose to 415.5 million euros, and were primarily concentrated in “Refined petroleum oils” (53.6 million euros), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (27.1 million euros), “New rubber tyres” (26.6 million euros), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (22.1 million euros) and “Goods transport vehicles” (16.8 million euros). A total of 671 different types of product were exported.
Exports to Belgium amounted to 210.9 million euros and this month’s transactions were dominated by “Refined petroleum oils” (54.3 million euros), “Goods not specifically covered by customs tariffs” (35.6 million euros), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (30.2 million euros), “Goods transport vehicles” (17.9 million euros) and “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (13.6 million euros). A total of 266 different types of products were exported.
The United States occupied fourth place with 181.3 million euros, with the majority of exports in “Goods transport vehicles” (31.2 million euros) “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (14.8 million euros), “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (13.9 million euros) and “Biodiesel and mixtures thereof” (13.4 million euros). A total of 344 different types of products were exported.
Lastly, the United Kingdom accounted for 180.1 million euros of the Basque Country’s exports this month, chiefly in the areas of “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” (18.3 million euros), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (17.2 million euros), “Goods transport vehicles” (14.5 million euros), “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (13.9 million euros), and “Structures based on sheets, rods, profiles, tubes and similar cast items of iron or steel” (13.8 million euros). A total of 442 different types of products were exported.
Exports to Russia (3.9 million euros) primarily consisted of “Machines for washing, filling, sealing and labelling containers and packing machinery”, which accounted for 1.9 million euros. The remaining 2 million euros were shared between 21 different types of products.
This month, 50.4% of Basque imports came from the EU27. The countries that supplied goods include Germany, which accounted for a total of 347 million euros, chiefly divided between “Vehicle parts and accessories” (53.1 million euros), “Piston, diesel or semi-diesel engines” (43.2 million euros), “Electric motors and generators (except electrical generating sets)” (14.5 million euros) and “Flat rolled products of non-alloy iron or steel, plated or coated, measuring > 599 mm” (13.3 million euros).
The most sought-after product from France was “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel”, accounting for 26.3 million euros out of total imports of 164 million euros, which were divided between 709 types of products.
The Basque country imported a total of 538 different types of products from Italy, mostly concentrated in the categories of “Base metals, cast iron and steel and articles thereof” (43 million euros) and “Machinery and transport material” (36 million euros).
Outside the EU, of particular note was Brazil with 249.8 million euros, of which 225 million euros corresponded to “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals”.
For yet another month, the top product imported from China was “Electric accumulators and parts thereof”, accounting for 41.1 million euros out of a total of 178.1 million euros.
Goods amounting to 6.8 million euros were imported from Russia this month, chiefly consisting of “Unwrought aluminium” (5.7 million euros), “Titanium and articles thereof, including waste and scrap” (0.5 million euros) and “Alloy or non-alloy unwrought nickel” (0.2 million euros).
Energy imports were distributed as follows: 308.8 million euros (55.4%) from the Americas, comprising 225.0 million euros from Brazil, 48.4 million euros from Mexico and 35.3 million euros from the United States; 123.8 million euros (22.2%) from Asia, comprising 62.8 million euros from Kazakhstan and 60.8 million euros from Iraq; 73.2 million euros (13.1%) from Africa, of which Nigeria accounted for the entirety ; and 51.8 million euros (9.3%) from Europe, almost all from Belgium (30.1 million euros) and the Netherlands (18.2 million euros).
Products traded in October 2023
A more detailed look at the four-digit products reveals that in October 2023 the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 43.7% of exports, with a combined value of 1,229.1 million euros.
Within the top 25 customs duty groups, noteworthy increases were recorded in four of them: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats”, accounting for 333.4 million euros in exports; “Goods transport vehicles” (206.7 million euros in exports); “New rubber tyres” (122.6 million euros in exports); and “Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver” (27.1 million euros in exports). In contrast, a sharp decline (-35.0%) was recorded in “Refined petroleum oils”, whose total of 140.6 million euros in exports was 75.8 million euros lower than the equivalent figure for the same month last year.
Ranking of the Basque Country exports by tariff heading, annual cumulative (p). October 2023
| Code | Denomination | Thousand euros |
| | TOTAL EXPORTS | 27.112.814 |
1 | 8703 | Tourisms of less than 10 people | 2.631.942 |
2 | 8708 | Parts and accessories of motor vehicles | 1.882.136 |
3 | 8704 | Motor vehicles for goods transport | 1.801.007 |
4 | 4011 | New rubber tyres | 1.230.060 |
5 | 2710 | Refined petroleum oils | 1.108.774 |
6 | 7304 | Tubes and hollow profiles,without welding, of iron or steel without welding | 611.746 |
7 | 7216 | Iron or non-alloyed profiles | 557.068 |
8 | 8481 | Faucet articles, valves and similar organs for pipes | 466.996 |
9 | 9990 | Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff | 397.139 |
10 | 8603 | Diesel or electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams | 361.241 |
11 | 7326 | Other iron and steel manufacturers | 359.574 |
12 | 7228 | Bars and profiles, of other alloyed steels and bars for perforation | 309.659 |
13 | 7222 | Bars and sections, in stainless steel | 297.361 |
14 | 8411 | Turbojet engines, propeller turbines and other combustion turbines, including their parts and components | 245.894 |
15 | 7325 | Other cast articles of iron or steel | 233.652 |
16 | 7606 | Sheets and bands, of aluminum, of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm | 233.384 |
17 | 8504 | Electrical transformers, static converters and reactance coils | 231.565 |
18 | 7308 | Construction-based sheets, rods, profiles, tubes and similars, of cast iron, iron or steel | 228.673 |
19 | 1518 | Fats and oils, animals or vegetables, intended for industrial technical uses | 228.385 |
20 | 8607 | Vehicle parts for rail road tracks or similar | 226.798 |
21 | 0303 | Frozen without filleting fish | 220.492 |
22 | 7306 | Other tubes and hollow profiles of iron or steel | 220.325 |
23 | 8428 | Elevators, escalators, conveyors, etc | 219.226 |
24 | 8483 | Transmission shafts, bearings, gear units clutches, etc. | 199.241 |
25 | 8301 | Padlocks, locks, bolts and keys made of base metals | 192.810 |
(p)Provisional data
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
In terms of imports, and with specific regard to the largest customs duty groups, significant growth was recorded in “Vehicle parts and accessories” (103.8 million euros in imports); “Flat, hot-rolled products of non-alloy iron or steel, plated or coated, measuring > 599 mm” (70.7 million euros in imports); “Electric accumulators and parts thereof” (47.1 million euros in imports); and “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (35.3 million euros in imports).
By contrast, the largest group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (22.7% of the total), saw a decline of 21.8%, with imports down 141.1 million on the same month of 2022, making a purchase total of 504.9 million euros.
ÁLAVA. Exports during October 2023
In Álava, exports grew by 7.8% compared to the same month of the previous year. For the most part, this growth was concentrated in the areas of “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (301.5 million euros), which grew by 1.0%; “Goods transport vehicles” (206.5 million euros), which grew by 38.1%; and “New rubber tyres” (48.8 million euros), which grew by 30.1%. Increases were also recorded for “Other tubes and hollow profiles made or iron or steel” (84.0%) and “Transmission shafts, bearings, gear units, clutches, etc.” (69.1%), with 7.5 million euros in exports.
Ranking of monthly Exports of Álava by tariff headings. Thousands of euros (p). October 2023
| 2022 | 2023 | 2023 (%) | 2023/2022 (%) |
TOTAL EXPORTS | 875.491 | 943.979 | 100,0 | 7,8 |
Tourisms of less than 10 people | 298.402 | 301.451 | 31,9 | 1,0 |
Motor vehicles for goods transport | 149.581 | 206.517 | 21,9 | 38,1 |
New rubber tyres | 37.539 | 48.836 | 5,2 | 30,1 |
Parts and accessories of motor vehicles | 50.046 | 47.252 | 5,0 | -5,6 |
Tubes and hollow profiles,without welding, of iron or steel without welding | 55.949 | 39.367 | 4,2 | -29,6 |
Wine made with fresh grapes | 19.851 | 22.135 | 2,3 | 11,5 |
Other tubes and hollow profiles of iron or steel | 7.724 | 14.209 | 1,5 | 84,0 |
Stainless steel ingots or other primary forms | 8.787 | 12.274 | 1,3 | 39,7 |
Transmission shafts, bearings, gear units clutches, etc. | 4.440 | 7.509 | 0,8 | 69,1 |
Pictures, panels and support for control or distribution of electricity | 5.752 | 7.288 | 0,8 | 26,7 |
(p)Provisional data
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
BIZKAIA. Exports during October 2023
Exports from the province of Bizkaia were down 8.2%. “Refined petroleum oils”, first in the export ranking for Bizkaia, was the customs duty group responsible for this decline, given that it plummeted by 35.4% and exports for this group amounted to just 138.1 million euros compared to 213.8 million euros in the same month of the previous year (a decrease of 75.6 million euros).
Among the main customs duty groups, notable increases were recorded for “New rubber tyres” (21.0%; 73.2 million euros) and “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components”, (62.1%; 31.9 million euros).
Ranking of monthly Exports of Bizkaia by tariff headings. Thousands of euros (p). October 2023
| 2022 | 2023 | 2023 (%) | 2023/2022 (%) |
TOTAL EXPORTS | 1.118.317 | 1.026.553 | 100,0 | -8,2 |
Refined petroleum oils | 213.777 | 138.128 | 13,5 | -35,4 |
New rubber tyres | 60.511 | 73.188 | 7,1 | 21,0 |
Parts and accessories of motor vehicles | 67.956 | 67.970 | 6,6 | 0,0 |
Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff | 50.830 | 47.833 | 4,7 | -5,9 |
Turbojet engines, propeller turbines and other combustion turbines, including their parts and components | 19.658 | 31.857 | 3,1 | 62,1 |
Frozen without filleting fish | 28.960 | 24.962 | 2,4 | -13,8 |
Bars and profiles, of other alloyed steels and bars for perforation | 22.502 | 18.299 | 1,8 | -18,7 |
Bars and sections, in stainless steel | 24.068 | 17.816 | 1,7 | -26,0 |
Fats and oils, animals or vegetables, intended for industrial technical uses | 0 | 16.710 | 1,6 | - |
Other cast articles of iron or steel | 14.755 | 16.526 | 1,6 | 12,0 |
(p)Provisional data
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
GIPUZKOA. Exports during October 2023
Exports from Gipuzkoa rose by 0.5% this month. Growth in excess of 100% was recorded for “Lifts, escalators, transporters, etc.” and “Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver”, while a decrease of 42.3% was recorded for “Iron or non-alloy steel sections”.
Ranking of monthly Exports of Gipuzkoa by tariff headings. Thousands of euros (p). October 2023
| 2022 | 2023 | 2023 (%) | 2023/2022 (%) |
TOTAL EXPORTS | 838.923 | 843.297 | 100,0 | 0,5 |
Parts and accessories of motor vehicles | 67.850 | 76.863 | 9,1 | 13,3 |
Diesel or electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams | 51.445 | 60.454 | 7,2 | 17,5 |
Iron or non-alloyed profiles | 56.367 | 32.496 | 3,9 | -42,3 |
Motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, including the driver | 5.265 | 27.064 | 3,2 | 414,0 |
Faucet articles, valves and similar organs for pipes | 29.652 | 26.961 | 3,2 | -9,1 |
Elevators, escalators, conveyors, etc | 8.116 | 23.319 | 2,8 | 187,3 |
Other iron and steel manufacturers | 14.792 | 23.002 | 2,7 | 55,5 |
Padlocks, locks, bolts and keys made of base metals | 19.671 | 17.915 | 2,1 | -8,9 |
Vehicle parts for rail road tracks or similar | 14.603 | 17.156 | 2,0 | 17,5 |
Machine tools for drilling, reaming, milling or threading metal by removing material, other than lathes | 8.702 | 14.898 | 1,8 | 71,2 |
(p)Provisional data
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
CUMULATIVE TOTAL (JANUARY-OCTOBER) 2023: goods exports were up 0.2%, the trade balance was positive (4,273 million euros) and the coverage rate stood at 118.7%
For the first ten months of 2023 as a whole, and with regard to exports from the Basque Country, an increase of 0.2% was registered compared to the same period of the previous year, translating to a rise of 40.7 million euros. The total amount of exports for this period stood at 27,113 million euros: the greatest contribution to this figure was made by Bizkaia, with 10,120 million euros (37.3% of the total), followed by Álava (8,639 million euros) and Gipuzkoa (8,354 million euros).
Exports from Álava posted a year-on-year increase of 888.3 million euros compared to the same period in 2022, and a relative rise of 11.5%. Gipuzkoa saw a much more moderate increase (2.1%, with 171.9 million euros more than in 2022), whereas in Bizkaia there was a negative trend, with exports down by 1,019.5 million euros, which translates to a decrease of 9.2%.
In terms of the types of products exported, “Non-energy products” presented a positive trend with an increase of 1,065.5 million euros; however, this was not the case for “Energy products”, which were 43.3% lower than the cumulative total for the period to October 2022 (a decrease of 1,024.7 million euros).
Ranking of the Basque Country exports by tariff heading, annual cumulative (p). October 2023
| Code | Denomination | Thousand euros |
| | TOTAL EXPORTS | 27.112.814 |
1 | 8703 | Tourisms of less than 10 people | 2.631.942 |
2 | 8708 | Parts and accessories of motor vehicles | 1.882.136 |
3 | 8704 | Motor vehicles for goods transport | 1.801.007 |
4 | 4011 | New rubber tyres | 1.230.060 |
5 | 2710 | Refined petroleum oils | 1.108.774 |
6 | 7304 | Tubes and hollow profiles,without welding, of iron or steel without welding | 611.746 |
7 | 7216 | Iron or non-alloyed profiles | 557.068 |
8 | 8481 | Faucet articles, valves and similar organs for pipes | 466.996 |
9 | 9990 | Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff | 397.139 |
10 | 8603 | Diesel or electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams | 361.241 |
11 | 7326 | Other iron and steel manufacturers | 359.574 |
12 | 7228 | Bars and profiles, of other alloyed steels and bars for perforation | 309.659 |
13 | 7222 | Bars and sections, in stainless steel | 297.361 |
14 | 8411 | Turbojet engines, propeller turbines and other combustion turbines, including their parts and components | 245.894 |
15 | 7325 | Other cast articles of iron or steel | 233.652 |
16 | 7606 | Sheets and bands, of aluminum, of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm | 233.384 |
17 | 8504 | Electrical transformers, static converters and reactance coils | 231.565 |
18 | 7308 | Construction-based sheets, rods, profiles, tubes and similars, of cast iron, iron or steel | 228.673 |
19 | 1518 | Fats and oils, animals or vegetables, intended for industrial technical uses | 228.385 |
20 | 8607 | Vehicle parts for rail road tracks or similar | 226.798 |
21 | 0303 | Frozen without filleting fish | 220.492 |
22 | 7306 | Other tubes and hollow profiles of iron or steel | 220.325 |
23 | 8428 | Elevators, escalators, conveyors, etc | 219.226 |
24 | 8483 | Transmission shafts, bearings, gear units clutches, etc. | 199.241 |
25 | 8301 | Padlocks, locks, bolts and keys made of base metals | 192.810 |
(p)Provisional data
Date December 18, 2023
Source: Eustat. Foreign trade statistics
The ten most exported products (customs duty groups) accounted for 40.7% of exports, reaching a total of 11,048.1 million euros, and five of these presented positive growth rates compared to the same period in 2022. The standout products included “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats”, which was once again the Basque Country’s largest export category (accounting for 2,631.9 million euros, up 22.6%), and “Goods transport vehicles” (1,801.0 million euros, up 22.8%). “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel”, “New rubber tyres” and “Vehicle parts and accessories”, up 13.6%, 18.6% and 5.1% respectively, completed the list of the largest groups with the best performance in this period.
In contrast, it is worth highlighting the significant decrease in “Refined petroleum oils” (down 49.1%, with 1,068.5 million euros less than in 2022): this is not only due to the decline in prices, given that there was also a significant drop of 42.7% in the number of tonnes exported, which went from 2,597,317 tonnes in 2022 to 1,487,696 tonnes for the cumulative total for 2023.
The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent during the period considered was topped by Germany, with 16.3% of the total. Germany was followed by France (15.0%), the United States (7.8%), the United Kingdom (6.3%) and Italy (5.6%). Between them, these five countries accounted for 51% of exports.
Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole amounted to 22,840 million euros. In year-on-year terms, this figure is 1,585 million euros less than that registered for the same period in 2022. Bizkaia imported goods worth 13,364.4 million euros, which is 10.5% (1,570.5 million euros) less than the equivalent figure for the same period last year. Gipuzkoa’s imports amounted to 4,397.6 million euros, representing a drop of 8.4% (403 million euros). Lastly, Álava was the only province to see a rise in imports (8.3%), with 388 million euros more than the previous year. Some 5,077.8 million euros’ worth of goods were imported during this period.
Imports of “Energy products” were 18.0% lower than in the same period of the previous year, while those of “Non-energy products” were down 1.8%.
Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country had a positive balance of 4,273.1 million euros in the first ten months of 2023 and maintained a positive coverage rate of 118.7%.
Evolution of the foreign trade of the Basque Country
Millions Euros
Jan, 1995 Jan, 2000 Jan, 2005 Jan, 2010 Jan, 2015 Jan, 2020 -700 0 700 1.400 2.100 2.800 3.500 -700 0 700 1.400 2.100 2.800 3.500
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Jan, 1995 Jan, 2000 Jan, 2005 Jan, 2010 Jan, 2015 Jan, 2020
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For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62