Press Release 19/10/2021

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). August 2021

Exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 32.7% in August 2021

The cumulative total of exports for the first eight months of 2021 amounted to 16,350 million euros, with a year-on-year increase of 23.9%

There was a rise in exports of goods from the Basque Country of 32.7% in August 2021, according to Eustat data. Exports of energy products rose by 292.6% and those of non-energy products (91% of the total value) were up 24.6%.

Of particular relevance were the upturns in “Transport Material” (51.5%), “Metals and Manufactured” (33.2%), “Chemical Products” (108.5%) and, above all, “Mineral and Energy Products” (261.5%). As a whole, exports stood at 1,698 million euros compared to 1,279 million in the same month of the previous year.

Imports saw growth of 50.1% in August 2021, exceeding 1,645 million euros. Energy imports increased by 120.6%, and non-energy imports were up 33.0%.

Provinces

Álava registered the largest growth in exports, with 53.2%, due to the increase in “Transport Material” (179.2%). The increase in Bizkaia was 51.6% as a result of the rise in “Mineral and Energy Products” (278.6%), which, with an increase of 114.2 million, this month accounted for 20.5% of the total exported from this province, and in “Metals and Manufactured” (58.8%). The balance was also positive in Gipuzkoa, with an increase in exports of 5.7%, underpinned by growth of 9.3% in “Metals and Manufactured”, 7.1% in “Electrical Equipment, Machinery & Devices” and 47.4% in “Paper & Manufactured”, despite a decrease in “Transport Material” (-13.5%), with exports down 15.9 million on the same month of the previous year.

As regards imports, it was Bizkaia that accounted for the highest growth (78.6%), owing to the rise in acquisitions of “Mineral and Energy Products” (117.1%) and “Metals and Manufactured” (141.9%). Growth in Gipuzkoa stood at 29.7%, primarily because of the increases in “Metals and Manufactured” (37.4%) and “Electrical Equipment, Machinery & Devices” (36.5%); the balance was also positive in Álava, given that purchases of goods rose by 4.9% due to the upturn in “Metals and Manufactured” (42.0%).

Activity Branches (A86)

Analysing the largest activity branches, and in relation to exports, standing out this August were the increases in exports of “Coke plants and Oil Refining” (288.3%), “Iron & Steel Products” (70.4%) and exports of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (72.6%). This latter activity branch (first in the export ranking) rose in all three provinces, but especially in Álava (213.6%), where it went from 47 million in exports in August 2020 to 147 million in 2021.

In relation to imports, it can be observed that the largest activity branch this month, “Extraction & Petroleum Industries” (22.5% of the total), saw an increase of 125.3%, as did “Iron & Steel Products” (115.7%) and “General Use Machinery” (30.8%).

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals year-on-year increases in exports of what are traditionally three of the largest customs duty groups: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (205.9%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (410.3%) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (19.1%), all pertaining to the vehicle sector, which this month recorded exports worth 364 million euros (21.5% of the total). However, despite the strong growth in these customs duty groups, the greatest export momentum occurred in “Refined Petroleum Oils” (342.6%), with an increase of 102 million in respect of the same month of the previous year. If we neutralise the effect that the rise in prices of products derived from petroleum in summer 2020 had on this increase, and we compare the tonnes exported in year-on-year terms, we can see that this growth was still significant (179.2%), given that it went from 79,959 tonnes in August 2020 to 223,209 tonnes in 2021.

In the case of imports, there was a sharp rise in Basque imports of “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (109.5%) and a significant increase in “Refined Petroleum Oils” (82.8%), 15,746 tonnes more than in 2020 (primarily “Diesel” and, to a lesser extent “Fuel Oil”). It is also worth highlighting the extraordinary growth in imports of “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (437.6%), with a year-on-year increase of 68,164 tonnes and 42 million euros more than in August 2020. There was also a notable rise in imports of “Flat, hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products of a width exceeding 599 mm” (143.5%), “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (190.0%) and “Ferrous products obtained by directly reducing iron ores” (53,487 tonnes or 25 million in imports in August 2021).

Destination customers

In August, five countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 52% of total Basque exports. Three of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 63.5%.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country. Annual cumulative total

During the first eight months of 2021, exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 23.9% (3,153 million more than the previous year), reaching 16,350.3 million euros. This figure is still slightly lower than that for the same period of 2019, the year before the pandemic, when it reached 16,741.2 million euros.

The cumulative total of imports rose to 13,021.7 million, that is, 2,752.4 million more than in the same period of the previous tax year, representing an increase of 26.8%.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country during the first eight months of 2021 generated a positive balance of 3,329 million euros, with a coverage rate of 125.6%.

Provinces

Bizkaia stood out during this period in terms of export activity, as, with a year-on-year increase of 30.7%, it was the leader in exports, reaching 6,575 million euros. In Álava, the rise stood at 22.5% (4,669.8 million euros) and in Gipuzkoa it was 17.3% (5,105 million euros).

As regards imports, the performance was more even in the three provinces: Gipuzkoa saw an increase of 26.9% and imported goods to the value of 2,901 million euros, followed by Bizkaia with 7,235 million, up 26.8%, and Álava with a similar percentage (26.7%) and a contribution of 2,886 million to the Basque Country total.

Products

Considering the type of product, it was Non-energy Products, with a year-on-year increase of 3,011 million (24.1%), which most contributed to the growth in exports, while Energy Products also recorded 141 million more than the previous year (20.7%).

Imports of Energy products rose by 28.1% and those of Non-energy Products were up 26.5%.

Destination countries

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent in this period was topped by Germany, with 16.6% of the total exported, followed by France (15.8%), the United Kingdom (6.9%), the United States (6.0%) and Belgium with 5.4%. These five countries accounted for half of Basque exports (50.6%). If we add Italy (5.1%), the Netherlands (4.8%), Portugal (4.3%), China (2.7%) and Poland (2.4%) to the aforementioned states, the cumulative total for the first eight months of 2021 amounted to 11,428.5 million euros and represented 70% of total Basque exports.

Activity Branches (A86)

Among the largest activity branches by export volume, of particular note was the increase in exports of “Iron and Steel products” (39.2%), exceeding that exported during the previous year by almost 494 million, reaching 1,753 million euros.

There was also considerable growth in exports of “Non-ferrous Metals” (60.2%), “General Use Machinery” (12.9%), “Rubber Products” (22.5%) and, particularly, “Naval Construction” (1,217.9%).

The branch with the highest volume of exports was that of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (3,552 million and 21.7% of the total), which at the end of August 2021 registered accumulative growth of 23.9% in respect of the same period of the previous year.

For imports, it is worth highlighting that the largest branch, “Mineral and Extraction Industries” (crude oil), was up 7.4% and those following it in terms of volume also grew, especially “Iron and Steel products” (44.9%) and, most notably, “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (165.9%) (refined oil).

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals that, within exports, only one of the top 25 customs duty groups had a negative growth rate: “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-24.8%). In the remaining customs duty groups, the rates were positive, with the following standing out due to their significance and specific weight: “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (21.7%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (23.9%), “New Rubber Tyres” (17.5%), “Refined Petroleum Oils” (16.3%) and, in particular, “Vehicle parts and accessories” (36.8%).

If we carry out the same analysis for imports, of particular relevance was the significant increase in purchases of “Refined Petroleum Oils” (158.6%), which, in the period in question, accumulated 643 million euros compared to 249 million in the same period of the previous year, going from 808 tonnes to 1,458 tonnes. Looking again at imports, only one of the top 25 customs duty groups imported posted a negative growth rate: “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (-8.7%), which went from 196.8 million in imports in 2020 to 179.6 million in 2021, a drop from 1,039 tonnes to 718 tonnes.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62