Press release 19/05/2020
Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 21.8% in March 2020
In the first quarter of 2020 exports fell by 9.9%
There was a 21.8% decrease in exports of goods from the Basque Country, in nominal year-on-year terms, according to EUSTAT data. They totalled 1,697.6 million euros compared to 2,171.5 million in the same month of the previous year. This volume of exports placed March at the level of a month such as August, given that the average of exports in a holiday month such as that mentioned above stands at around 1,635 million euros in the last five years.
Exports of Energy products decreased by 66.1% and exports of Non-energy products were down 17.1%. The significant downturn in the rate of Energy exports is, in part, explained by the drop in prices registered in the last period, but also in quantities, energy exports fell by around 40%.
The three provinces shared the pattern indicated above, it being most pronounced in Álava, given that it saw a downturn of 29.3%, followed by Bizkaia (-20.9%) and Gipuzkoa (-16.6%). These percentages are explained, in Álava, by its dependence on the customs duty group Transport Material and in Bizkaia for its link to Mineral and Energy products. In the latter case if we exclude this type of products the total drop in Bizkaia would have been 5.5%.
Imports of goods to the Basque Country, with a total of 1,440.7 million euros, fell by 14.9% compared to March 2019. Energy imports decreased by 11.5% and Non-energy imports were down 15.9%. At a provincial level the largest decrease was registered in Gipuzkoa, with 22.0%, followed by Álava (-13.1%) and Bizkaia (-12.8%).
There was a positive trade balance of 256.9 million euros. This figure represents a decrease in the trade surplus of 46.3% in respect of the same period of the previous year (478.3 million in 2019). Analysing solely the “non-energy” trade balance reveals that it was equally positive; reaching 532.2 million, which represents, in comparison to the previous year (659.6 million), a decrease of 19.3%.
The coverage rate of exports over imports was down 10.4 percentage points, going from 128.2% to 117.8%. The same rate for “non-energy” products went from 150.7% to 148.6%.
This month ten countries - Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Poland and China- accounted for 65% of our exports. Only two do not belong to the EU-27, which with 996.4 million, accounted for 59.4% of Basque Country exports.
SECTOR LEVEL ANALYSIS OF EXPORTS (MARCH 2020)
Analysing the branches of activity (A86), a shrinking export trend was observed in the majority of the categories; thus, in 29 of them - for a total of 48 - more or less severe decreases were registered. Of the 10 largest only one - Other Transport Material - grew in respect of the same month of the previous year and did so by 9.6%. The others saw negative percentages ranging from 1.8% in Electrical Material & Equipment, to 60.7% in Coke Plants and Oil Refining.
In addition to the sharp decrease in the aforementioned category the following branches stood out due to the scale of the downturn in exports: Manufacture of motor vehicles (-39.9% and 297.6 million exported), Iron & Steel Products (-23.4% and 171.7 million), Metal Products (-21.2% and 115.4 million), General Use Machinery (-18.8% and 200.0 million), Rubber Products (-12.4% and 103.9 million, Production of non-ferrous metals (-10.0% and 64.2 million) and the Paper Industry(-5.9% and 51.3 million).
During March 2020, of the 25 main customs duty groups, 9 registered increases and 16 experienced decreases compared to the same period of the previous year.
The two most important Basque export groups during the aforementioned period were Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats and Vehicle parts and accessories. The former, with 107.3 million, accounted for 6.3% of the monthly total, after having dropped 44.8%; the latter registered a decrease of 30.9% and, in this case, the 103.8 million exported accounted for 6.1% of the aforementioned total.Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams attained third place in the export ranking, with an increase of 7.8% and a sales figure of 83.6 million euros. This was the reason why there was not a greater drop in global exports, taking into account that it is one of the few customs duty groups in the top ten that was not down compared to the same period of the previous year, together with that of Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel (up 1.5% and 34.8 million euros).
The next group on this scale, New Rubber Tyres, dropped 13.1%. Goods Transport Vehicles fell by 40.7% and Refined Petroleum Oils were down 60.5%, becoming the customs duty group that registered the greatest decrease among the 25 with the greatest weight this month. This was not only the case for the month in question, but a further demonstration of the uneven performance of this type of product over recent months.
Of the 25 most relevant customs duty groups, four of them were in the vehicle sector and, as a whole, accounted for 21.2% of the total exported (360.3 million), a percentage that in March 2019 stood a 25.4% with a total of 552.6 million euros, which was a year-on-year decrease of 192.3 million or, in other words, a fall of 34.8%.
ALAVA. Exports during March 2020
Exports from the province of Álava were down 29.3%. Of the ten main groups, which accounted for 67.0% of the total, five showed negative growth rates, those connected with the vehicle sector being of particular relevance: Passenger cars with less than 10 seats (-44.8%), Goods Transport Vehicles (-40.7%), “Vehicle parts and accessories (-17.0%) and New Rubber Tyres (-43.5%). This shrinking export trend was not generalised among all the groups, as was shown by, among others, the significant increases in Aircraft Parts (20.0%), Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel (21.3%) and Wine made with fresh grapes (13.4%).
BIZKAIA. Exports during March 2020
In Bizkaia exports fell by 20.9%. This phenomenon is primarily due to the contribution of the most important group Refined Petroleum Oils, which fell 60.6%. This is not the only product contributing to this process given that there were also decreases in Vehicle parts and accessories (-22.1%), Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm (-32.3%), among others. Of particular note was the good performance of New Rubber Tyres, which grew 7.9%.
Of the 172.7 million year-on-year decrease just over 100 corresponded to the group that occupies first place in the export ranking. This sudden decline is partly due to the recent significant drop in prices of products derived from petroleum; if we use tonnes exported instead of value in euros then this percentage of -60.6% will drop to a more tolerable -37.6% (from 329,705 tonnes March 2019 to 205,718 tonnes in March 2020).
GIPUZKOA. Exports during March 2020
Gipuzkoa registered the lowest decline in exports of the three provinces due, fundamentally, to the significant dynamism seen in recent times and also this month. As a result Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams has become one of its star products, which with growth of 7.8% (sales of 83.6 million in March) diminished the generalised negative trend in exports, the total percentage for Gipuzkoa standing below 20% (-16.6%).
Positive trends were also seen in Insulated electrical conduction wires and cables and optical fibre cables (5.0%) and Other iron or steel articles (17.5%); however, sharp decreases were registered in Iron or non-alloy steel sections (-34.7%) and in two customs duty groups in the vehicle sector: Vehicle parts and accessories (-42.6%) and Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver (-39.8%).
ACCUMULATED YEARLY PERIOD (1ST QUARTER 2020): the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 1,004 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 122%
For the first quarter of 2020 as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, a decrease of 9.9% was registered compared to the same period of the previous year, which translated into a drop of 609 million euros. The total amount of exports this quarter stood at 5,568.5 million euros; the greatest contribution to this figure was that of Bizkaia, with 2,148.8 million (38.6% of the total), followed by Gipuzkoa (1,756.0 million) and Álava (1,663.6 million).
Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, despite a year-on-year drop of 5.4% (121.8 million euros down on 2019). In Álava there was a decrease of 9.3% (down 169.6 million); however, in Gipuzkoa there was a fall of 15.3% (down 317.7 million). Considering the type of exported product, it was Non-energy products, with a decrease of 565.9 million, which accounted for the majority of the aforementioned fall, although energy products were also down compared to the same quarter of the previous year (43.3 million).
The ten most exported products (export duty groups) during the first quarter of 2020 accounted for 42.6% of exports, reaching a total of 2,371.9 million. Eight of these products registered decreases compared to the same quarter of 2019, whereas the other two experienced increases. The majority of the aforementioned decreases stood above 30 million euros, with three of them standing out with downturns in excess of 50 million; specifically, these were three products connected to the vehicle sector: Passenger cars with less than 10 seats fell by 10.0% (down 56.0 million), Goods Transport Vehicles decreased by 18.8% (down 73.6 million) and Vehicle parts and accessories dropped by 16.1% (down 75.5 million). Iron or non-alloy steel sections (-27.3%) and Aluminium plates and sheets (-28.4%) also registered notable decreases.
The export ranking of the first quarter of 2020 situates Germany as the prime receiver country of Basque exports, with 17% of the total exported. Germany is followed by France (15.8%), the United Kingdom (6.9%) and the United States (6.7%). Between them, these four countries accounted for almost 46.4% of Basque exports for this quarter.
Accumulated imports for the Basque Country as a whole during the period in question amounted to 4,564.3 million euros. Comparing this figure in year-on-year terms we see that it is 594.8 million down on that registered in the same period of 2019. This decrease (11.5%) is largely due to the fact that the province of Bizkaia (with accumulated imports of 2,596.1 million) registered a downturn of 11.2%, that is, 326.1 million down on the same quarter of the previous year. Imports decreased in Bizkaia (-15.8% and down 177.3 million) and also in Álava (-8.2% and down 91.4 million); the value of imports in these two provinces stood at 947.9 and 1,020.3 million euros, respectively. Imports of Energy Products fell by 12.7%, with those of Non-energy Products doing so by 11.1%.
Foreign trade in goods in the Basque Country during the first quarter of 2020 had a positive balance of 1,004.1 million euros. Although this is 14.3 million down on that registered during the first three months of the previous year, this maintains a positive coverage rate of 122%.
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