Press release 21/02/2019
Basque Country exports fell by 6.1% in December 2018, whilst imports grew by 0.6%
The balance for 2018 closed with a 6.8% growth in exports and an 8.8% increase in imports
There was a drop in exports of goods from the Basque Country of 6.1% in December 2018, according to EUSTAT data. This decrease was due to the drop in exports from the customs duty groups Transport Material (-15.5%), and Rubber and Plastics (-43.1%), with a loss of 148 million euros between the two groups compared to 2017. As a whole, the total exported was 1,750.2 million euros compared to 1,863.1 million in the same month of the previous year.
Álava is the province that accounted for the decrease (-29.4%), due to the drop in exports of Transport Material (-48.4%) which this month represented 40.5% of this province´s total exports, with a decrease of 128 million compared to the same month of the previous year. In Bizkaia there was a decrease of 8.5% due to the fall in exports from the Plastics & Rubber customs duty group (-60.5%). However, in Gipuzkoa there was an increase of 16.1% due to the strong growth in Transport Material (71.7%).
Imports of goods to the Basque Country experienced a 0.6% rise, reaching a total of 1,522.2 million euros. Energy imports increased by 6.4% and non-energy imports fell by 1.7%.
Imports for Gipuzkoa grew by 7.0%, and for Bizkaia they were up 4.4%, whereas they dropped by 16.2% for Alava.
Analysing the 48 largest activity branches(A86), and in relation to exports, standing out this month was the increase in exports of Other transport material(129.6%), Coke Plants & Oil Refining (23.4%) and General use machinery(14.1%), in addition to the decrease in exports of products related to Manufacture of motor vehicles(-39.7%). Rubber products, the eighth largest this month, saw a fall of 53.5%. Manufacture of motor vehicles (first in the ranking) fell considerably in Álava (-50.7%), in Bizkaia (-28.2%), and to a lesser extent in Gipuzkoa (-16.0%).
A more detailed look reveals year-on-year falls in exports of what are traditionally the five largest customs duty groups: Passenger cars with between 5 and 10 seats (-58.4%), Vehicle parts and accessories (-23.1%), Goods transport vehicles (-45.8%) and New Rubber Tyres (-59.6%). At the opposite extreme were Petroleum oils and Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams, with increases of 20.4% and 598.8% respectively.
In December five countries (France, Germany, United States, the Netherlands and United Kingdom) were our main clients, absorbing 51.4% of total exports from the Basque Country. Four of them belong to the EU 28, an entity that accounts for 63% of exports.
Analysing imports by branches of activity, it can be observed that the largest, Extraction and Petroleum Industries (29.2% of the total) saw an increase of 13.7%. Other large branches also registered growth: General use machinery (7.5%) and Paints and other chemical finishes (51.2%).
FOREIGN TRADE IN 2018
In 2018, exports were up by 6.8% and exceeded 20,000 million euros
Foreign trade in goods in the Basque Country during 2018 had a positive balance of 5,198.7 million euros, 5.3 million less than that registered during the previous year, which represents a coverage rate of 125.6%. This rate is over 100 (exports exceed imports) in respect of nearly all EU 28 countries. In relation to Germany it is 131.4% and for France and the United Kingdom it stands at 203.1% and 229.2% respectively.
For the whole of 2018, exports from the Basque Country saw an increase of 6.8% compared to the previous year (1,630.8 million more).
Bizkaia exports, during the period in question, were the largest in the Basque Country, with an accumulated total of 10,478.8 million euros and growth of 9.8%. In Álava growth stood at 3.3% (7,367.9 million euros) and in Gipuzkoa it was 6.5% (7,640.8 million euros). Considering the type of product, it was Non-energy products, with a year-on-year growth of 1,270.6 million, which accounted for the majority of the aforementioned growth, whereas Energy products contributed 360.2 million, all in nominal terms.
Of the 48 largest activity branches (A86 sectorisation) by export volume, the growth of products related to Iron and Steel products particularly stood out (19.8%), exceeding that exported during the previous year by 453.7 million, to stand at 2,739.6 million euros. There was also significant growth in exports related to Coke Plants & Oil Refining, up 21.9%, and Rubber Products, with an increase of 11.5%. In turn, the branch with the highest volume of exports was that of products relating to Manufacture of motor vehicles (6,107.6 million and 24.0% of the total). At the end of 2018, it maintained growth of 1.7%, despite posting significant falls in exports for five consecutive months.
The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports are sent is topped by France, with 15.3% of the total exported. France is followed by Germany (15.0%) and the United States (8.3%). These three countries account for more than a third of Basque exports between them.
Accumulated imports in 2018 amounted to 20,288.8 million euros. This figure represented 1,636.2 million more than that registered in 2017. Bizkaia made the highest contribution, 1,082.5 million euros (66.2%), to the aforementioned increase, followed by Álava with 195.6 million and Gipuzkoa with 358.0 million. Imports of Energy Products rose by 14.1%, with those of Non-energy Products doing so by 6.8%.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62