Press Release 17/03/2021
Exports of non-energy products from the Basque Country fell by 5.7% in January 2021
The negative performance of energy exports (-66.5%) brought total exports down by 12.4%
According to Eustat data, in January 2021 exports of goods from the Basque Country (accounting for 1,724.6 million euros) were down 12.4% compared to the same month of the previous year. Exports of energy products registered a sharp decrease of 66.5%, whereas exports of non-energy products declined by only 5.7%.
Furthermore, imports (1,362.1 million) fell by 13.5%, due to the decreases of 38.3% in energy products and 3.8% in non-energy products.
Despite this, the trade balance was positive (362.6 million) with a coverage rate of 126.6, which was 1.5 percentage points up on January 2020.
By province, Bizkaia had the worst export performance, with a 14.5% drop in exports, due to the aforementioned decrease in energy exports (-143.6 million euros, with a fall of 66.8%). This drop in energy exports was mostly concentrated in products such as “Low-octane petrols (<95)”, “Low-sulphur petrol (>0.1% by weight)”, “High-sulphur fuel (>0.5% by weight)” and, to a lesser degree, in “Special lubricating oils” and “Bitumen”. However, exports of “Medium-octane petrols (>95 and <98)” increased.
Exports from Gipuzkoa were down 11.6%, mainly due to the decline in “Transport Material” ( 30.5% and down 44.4 million) and “Electrical Material” (-11.6% and down 21.3 million).
Exports from Álava followed the same trend as in the other provinces, with a decrease of 10.5% as a result of the 49.2% drop in “Electrical Material” (down 27.5 million) and “Metals and Manufactured” (-22.8%). However, “Transport Material” maintained practically the same volume of exports as in January 2020, given that, with 347.1 million euros, it posted only a slight decrease of 0.3%.
In January 2021, five countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy) were our main clients, absorbing 54% (930.9 million euros) of total exports from the Basque Country. Four of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 68.9%. This percentage would have been 75.5% for the former EU28.
Exports to the Netherlands increased by 8.1% and to Portugal by 5.6%, while exports to the other main European countries registered negative year-on-year data. These included, for example, France ( 20.5%), the United Kingdom (-10.0%), Italy (-5.9%), Belgium (-1.4%) and Germany (-4.4%). This month, sales to the United States dropped by 49.6%, as did those to Mexico (-39.1%). However, sales to China (1.4%), Russia (29.3%) and Turkey (35.0%), which were among the destinations with the largest sales volumes, increased.
Half of all imports came from the EU27 (50%) and would have reached 51.4% for the erstwhile EU28. In terms of positive growth, the standout European countries included Italy, with an increase of 9.7%, followed by Germany (2.2%), Portugal (2.1%) and France (0.7%). At the opposite end of the scale were Ireland (-55.9%) and the United Kingdom (-65.8%). For the rest of the world, imports from Russia (-38.1%) and Turkey (-82.5%) were down, while those from Mexico (113.0%), China (19.5%) and the United States (56.2%) increased.
Products traded in January 2021
A more detailed look reveals that in January 2021 the ten main Customs Duty Groups accounted for 43.6% of exports, with a combined value of 752.8 million euros.
There were noteworthy increases in “Railway or Tramway Vehicle Parts” (194.0% and 24.4 million more than in the previous year) and “Goods Transport Vehicles” (13.5% and 16.6 million more).
Conversely, there was a considerable decrease in “Refined Petroleum Oils” (-68.0% and down 143.5 million euros) and in “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-47.1% and down 17.8 million euros). This month, half of the 10 main groups are within the vehicle sector which, with a year-on-year increase of 4.0%, managed to export 21.9 million euros more than in the same month of the previous year.
In the case of imports, we see that the largest of the customs duty groups, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (17.4% of the total) recorded a downturn of 14.3%.
This pattern is shared by 11 of the 25 main customs duty groups, including “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (-91.7%), “Mixtures of odoriferous substances used in the food and beverage industries” (-56.8%) and “Other preparations and products of the chemical and allied industries” (-50.7%).
On the other hand, there was a notable increase in “Soya Beans, Whether or Not Broken” (287.2%), the third most imported product this month, and “Unwrought aluminium” (209.7%).
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