Press release 17/07/2020
Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 36.0% in May 2020
In the first five months of 2020 there was an overall decrease in exports of 24.7% in respect of the previous year, but Basque foreign trade still maintained a surplus of 1,551 million euros
There was a 36.0% decrease in exports of goods from the Basque Country, in nominal year-on-year terms, according to EUSTAT data. They totalled 1,560.3 million euros compared to 2,439.7 million in the same month of the previous year. Exports of Energy products fell by 45.5% and exports of Non-energy products were down 35.3%.
The three provinces shared the pattern indicated above with very similar percentages, this being slightly most pronounced in Bizkaia, given that it saw a downturn of 37.7%, followed by Gipuzkoa (-35.5%) and Álava (-34.5%). 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.
/
Imports of goods to the Basque Country, with a total of 1,069.3 million euros, fell by 43.8% in relation to May 2019. Energy imports fell by 77.1% (-40.3% if we consider tonnes imported) and Non-energy imports were down 31.2%. At a provincial level the largest decrease was registered in Gipuzkoa, with 49.9%, followed by Álava (36.4%) and Bizkaia (34.1%).
There was a positive trade balance of 491 million euros. This figure represents an increase in the trade surplus of 8.5% in respect of the same period of the previous year (536.7 million). Analysing solely the Non-energy trade balance reveals that this was equally positive and reached 518.7 million, which represents, if we compare it with the previous year (890.8 million), a decrease of 41.8%.
The coverage rate of exports over imports was down 17.7 percentage points, going from 128.2% to 145.9%. The same rate for Non-energy products went from 164.5% to 154.6%.
This month ten countries - Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland and China- accounted for 68.5% of our exports. The majority belong to the EU-27, which with 1,003.1 million, accounted for 64.3% of Basque Country exports.
SECTOR LEVEL ANALYSIS OF EXPORTS (MAY 2020)
Analysing the branches of activity (A86), a shrinking export trend was observed in the majority of the categories; thus, in only 5 of them - for a total of 48 - more or less pronounced increases were registered. Of the 10 largest, only one showed growth in respect of the previous year, Coke Plants and Oil Refining, which increased by 4.2% (91.9 million exported). In the remaining cases there were negative percentages ranging from 22.4% in Iron & Steel Products to 45.0% in Rubber Products.
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 (-42.5% and 335.2 million exported); Electrical Material & Equipment (-35.8% and 71.9 million); Metal Products (-35.6% and 127.5 million); Production of non-ferrous metals (-34.0% and 58.9 million); General Use Machinery (-25.9% and 181.0 million); Other Transport Material (-25.2% and 112.3 million) and the Paper Industry (-25.4% and 40.7 million).
During May 2020, of the 25 main customs duty groups, 6 registered increases and 19 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 Goods Transport Vehicles. The former, with 165.9 million, accounted for 10.6% of the monthly total, after having dropped 27.4%; the latter registered a decrease of 43.3% and, in this case, the 96.4 million exported accounted for 6.2% of the aforementioned total.Refined Petroleum Oils attained third place in the export ranking, with an increase of 25.5% and a sales figure of 86.7 million euros.
The next group on this scale, Vehicle parts and accessories, dropped 60.0%. New Rubber Tyres fell by 46.5% and Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams were down 56.2%, occupying sixth place in the ranking.
Within this ranking and in terms of positive trends, mention can be made of the significant growth in Flat rolled products of non-alloy iron or steel, not clad, plated or coated, of a width of less than 600mm (162.9%) and Railway or tramway vehicle parts (88.8%)
ÁLAVA. Exports during May 2020
Exports from the province of Álava were down 34.5%. The ten main groups, which accounted for 74.2% of the total, showed negative growth rates, those connected with the vehicle sector being of particular relevance: Vehicle parts and accessories (-65.2%); New Rubber Tyres (-48.7%); Goods Transport Vehicles (-43.3%); and Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats (-28.6%).
BIZKAIA. Exports during May 2020
In Bizkaia exports fell by 37.7%. This phenomenon is primarily due to the contribution of the following groups: Vehicle parts and accessories (-57.1%, down 32.0 million); New Rubber Tyres (-45.6%, down 25.5 million) and Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm (-48.6%, down 15.8 million), among others. Of particular note was the good performance of Refined Petroleum Oils, with growth of 25.8%, and Flat rolled products of non-alloy iron or steel, not clad, plated or coated, of a width of less than 600mm (168.2%)
GIPUZKOA. Exports during April 2020
Gipuzkoa, like the other provinces, also registered a decline in exports this month (-35.5%), which is not surprising if we take into account that seven of its ten main export duty groups were down compared to the same month of the previous year. Standing out were the decreases in Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams (-56.2% and -51.8 million); Vehicle parts and accessories (-60.7% and -45.3 million) and Iron or non-alloy steel sections (-33.1% and -15.1 million).
Positive trends were seen in Railway or tramway vehicle parts, with strong growth of 97.4% (an increase of 15.8 million) and Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines (644.9%, up 8.7 million).
ANNUAL ACCUMULATE (FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 2020): the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 1,551 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 123.4%
For the first five months of 2020 as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, a decrease of 24.7% was registered compared to the same period of the previous year, which translated into a fall of 2,675 million euros. The total amount of exports in this period stood at 8,170.8 million euros; the greatest contribution to this figure was that of Bizkaia, with 3,185.8 million (39.0% of the total), followed by Gipuzkoa (2,706.2 million) and Álava (2,278.8 million).
Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, despite a year-on-year drop of 23.1% (959.0 million euros down on 2019). In Álava exports decreased by 25.3% (down 772.3 million) and they fell by 25.9% in Gipuzkoa (down 943.7 million). Considering the type of exported product, it was Non-energy products, with a decrease of 2,315.3 million, which accounted for the majority of the aforementioned drop, although Non-energy products were also down compared to the same quarter of the previous year (359.7 million).
The ten most exported products (export duty groups) during the first five months of 2020 accounted for 39.6% of exports, reaching a total of 3,237.8 million. All registered decreases in respect of the same period of 2019. The majority of these decreases stood above 50 million euros, with five of them standing out with downturns in excess of 100 million and four exceeded 240 million; specifically, these were products connected to the vehicle sector: Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams were down 53.2% (240.9 million euros);Passenger cars with less than 10 seats, dropped 27.7% (down 257.4 million); Goods Transport Vehicles decreased by 37.0% (down 244.7 million); and Vehicle parts and accessories fell by 32.6% (down 248.0 million). A considerable downturn was also registered in New Rubber Tyres (-23.6%, down 102.2 million).
The export ranking in these first five months of 2020 situates Germany as the prime receiver country of Basque exports, with 16.6% of the total exported. Germany is followed by France (15.5%), the United States (6.7%) and the United Kingdom (6.5%). Between them, these four countries accounted for almost 45.2% of Basque exports.
Accumulated imports for the Basque Country as a whole during the period in question amounted to 6,619.5 million euros. Comparing this figure in year-on-year terms we see that it is 2,177.3 million down on that registered in the same period of 2019. This decrease (24.8%) is largely due to the fact that the province of Bizkaia (with imports of 3,748.0 million) registered a downturn of 26.3%, that is, 1,339.5 million down on the same period of the previous year. Imports decreased in Bizkaia (-22.7% and down 431.9 million) and also in Álava (-22.5% and down 405.9 million); the value of imports in these two provinces stood at 1,471.9 and 1,399.6 million euros, respectively.
Imports of Energy Products fell by 38.6% and those of Non-energy Products were down 19.7%.
Foreign trade in goods in the Basque Country during the first five months of 2020 had a positive balance of 1,551.2 million euros; this maintains a positive coverage rate of 123.4%.
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