Press release 21/09/2020
Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 13.4% in July 2020
In the first seven months of 2020, exports accumulated a fall of 21.6% in respect of the previous year
Exports of goods from the Basque Country, in nominal year-on-year terms, fell by 13.4%, according to EUSTAT data. They totalled 1,857.2 million euros compared to 2,143.5 million in the same month of the previous year. Exports of Energy products decreased by 54.3% and exports of Non-energy products were down 10.1%.
The three provinces shared the pattern indicated above, it being most pronounced in Bizkaia, given that it saw a downturn of 18.8%, followed by Gipuzkoa (-13.7%) and Álava (-7.0%).
Imports of goods to the Basque Country, with a total of 1,339.2 million euros, fell by 16.7% in relation to July 2019. Energy imports fell by 39.2% (-12.2% if we consider tonnes imported) and Non-energy imports were down 8.8%. At a provincial level the largest decrease was registered in Bizkaia, with 23.0%, followed by Gipuzkoa (-14.5%) and Álava (-0.1%).
There was a positive trade balance of 518.0 million euros. This figure represents an increase in the trade surplus of 3.5% in respect of the same period of the previous year (536.5 million). Analysing solely the Non-energy trade balance reveals that this was equally positive and reached 699.1 million, which represents, if we compare it with the previous year (795.0 million), a decrease of 12.1%.
Thecoverage rate of exports over imports increased by 5.3 percentage points, going from 133.4% to 138.7%. The same rate for Non-energy products went from 166.8% to 164.4%.
This month ten countries – Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, China and Mexico – accounted for 68.6% of our exports. Only two do not belong to the EU-27, which with 1,148.0 million, accounted for 61.8% of Basque Country exports.
SECTOR LEVEL ANALYSIS OF EXPORTS (JULY 2020)
Analysing the branches of activity (A86), a trend towards an upturn in exports was observed in respect of the previous month; thus, in 14 of them - for a total of 48 - more or less pronounced increases were registered. Of the 10 largest, only three showed growth in respect of the same month of the previous year, standing out among these was Electrical Material & Equipment with 24.8% (89.3 million in July 2020) the other two were General Use Machinery (1.7% and 230.6 million) and Metal Products, up 1.1% (131.4 million). In the remaining cases there were negative percentages ranging from -1.2% in Rubber Products to -54.3% in Coke plants and Oil Refining.
In addition to the aforementioned decrease, also of note, due to the scale of the downturn in exports, were Other Transport Materia (-49.0% and 56.5 million exported) and Machine tools (-22.9% and 55.6 million).
During July 2020, of the 25 main customs duty groups, 13 registered increases and 12 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 218.0 million, accounted for 11.7% of the monthly total, after having posted a year-on-year decrease of 16.1%; the latter registered an increase of 9.0% and, in this case, the 178.7 million exported accounted for 9.6% of the aforementioned total.Vehicle parts and accessories attained third place in the export ranking, despite experiencing a drop of 40.0% in respect of the same month of the previous year, with a sales volume of 104.7 million euros.
The next group New rubber tyres fell slightly by 1.0% and Refined petroleum oils dropped by 60.8%. Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes, in sixth place, rose by 14.3%. This positive trend continued up to the eleventh position in the ranking, highlighting the increases in Interchangeable tools for hand tools or for machine tools(100.5%), Stainless steel bars and sections (29.4%) and Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver (19.6%).
Within this classification and in terms of positive trends, there were also significant increases in Unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining(169.0%) Apparatus for the heat treatment of materials (84.8%) and Electric motors and generators (except electrical generating sets) (52.5%).
ÁLAVA. Exports during July 2020
Exports from the province of Álava were down 7.0%. Of the ten main groups, which accounted for 76.3% of the total, four showed positive growth rates, the group Goods Transport Vehicles (9.2%), connected with the vehicle sector, being of particular relevance. However, other groups in this same sector did not follow the same pattern, as was the case with Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats (-16.5%) and Vehicle parts and accessories (-15.9%).
BIZKAIA. Exports during July 2020
In Bizkaia exports fell by 18.8%. The greatest contribution to this phenomenon was once again concentrated in the group,Refined petroleum oils (-61.0% and a fall of 84.2 million); also collaborating in this sense were:Vehicle parts and accessories” (-62.1% and 63.0 million less);Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm (-46.4% and down 12.7 million); and New rubber tyres” (-10.9%), among others. Of particular note was the good performance ofInterchangeable tools for hand tools or for machine tools, with growth of 119.9% (up 18.8 million on July 2019); Coke, bitumen and other waste from petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals o” (475.5%, up 11.0 million) and Unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining” (169.0%, up 10.3 million).
GIPUZKOA. Exports during July 2020
Gipuzkoa, like the other provinces, also registered a decline in exports this month (-13.7%), however among its ten main export duty groups, five were down and others increased their foreign sales in respect of the same month of the previous year. Standing out among the former were the decreases in: Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams (-82.9%, down 48.2 million); Railway or tramway vehicle parts” (-20.0%, down 3.1 million); Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (-25.5% and -6.5 million); and Parts and accessories for machine tools (-26.4% and -3.6 million). Of note among the latter were:Insulated electrical conduction wires and cables and optical fibre cables” (344.5%, up 9.0 million); and Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (24.4% and a year-on-year increase of 6.0 million).
ANNUAL ACCUMULATE (FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2020): the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 2,745 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 129.9%
For the first seven months of 2020 as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, a decrease of 21.6% was registered compared to the same period of the previous year, which translated into a fall of 3,279.8 million euros. The total amount of exports in this period stood at 11,918.6 million euros; Bizkaia contributed the most to this figure, with 4,532.1 million (38.0% of the total), followed by Gipuzkoa (3,819.0 million) and Álava (3,567.5 million).
Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country, despite a year-on-year drop of 20.3% (1,154.6 million euros down on 2019). In Álava exports decreased by 19.7% (down 876.2 million) and they fell by 24.6% in Gipuzkoa (down 1,248.9 million).
Considering the type of exported product, it was Non-energy products, with a decrease of 2,766.2 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 (513.6 million).
The ten most exported products (export duty groups) during the first seven months of 2020 accounted for 40.3% of exports, reaching a total of 4,803.9 million. All registered decreases in respect of the same period of 2019. Half of these decreases stood above 100 million euros, with three of them standing out with drops of around 350 million. Specifically, these were products connected to the vehicle sector:Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams fell by 57.4% (-354.1 million euros); lPassenger cars with fewer than 10 seats dropped by 23.6% (-339.6 million); Goods Transport Vehiclesdown 19,2% (-179.2 million); and Vehicle parts and accessories, which decreased by 32.3% (-347.1 million).
The export ranking in these first five months of 2020 situates Germany as the prime receiver country of Basque exports, with 17.6% of the total exported. Germany is followed by France (15.5%), the United States (7.1%) and the United Kingdom (6.0%). Between them, these four countries accounted for almost 46.3% of Basque exports.
Accumulated imports for the Basque Country as a whole during the period in question amounted to 9,173.5 million euros. Comparing this figure in year-on-year terms we see that it is 2,860.5 million down on that registered in the same period of 2019. This decrease (23.8%) is largely due to the fact that the province of Bizkaia (with imports of 5,119.8 million) registered a downturn of 26.4%, that is, 1,834.1 million down on the same period of the previous year. Imports also decreased in Gipuzkoa (-21.2%, down 546.1 million) as did those in Álava (-19.2%, down 480.3 million); The value of imports in these two provinces stood at 2,029.3 and 2,024.4 million euros, respectively. Imports of Energy Products fell by 41.2% and those of Non-energy Products were down 17.7%.
Foreign trade in goods in the Basque Country during the first seven months of 2020 had a positive balance of 2,745.1 million euros. Although this is 419.3 million down on that registered during the same period of the previous year, this maintains a positive coverage rate of 129.9%.
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