Press Release 17/12/2021

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). October 2021.

Exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 14.6% in October 2021

The cumulative total of exports for the first ten months of 2021 saw a year-on-year increase of 22.3% and a surplus of over 4,000 million euros

There was a rise in exports of goods from the Basque Country of 14.6% in October 2021, according to Eustat data. Exports of energy products rose by 434.7% and those of non-energy products (94% of the total value) were up 9.3%.

Of particular relevance this month were the upturns in “Mineral and Energy Products” (372.4%), “Metals and articles thereof” (20.1%) and “Plastics and Rubber” (12.4%). As a whole, exports stood at 2,292.6 million euros compared to 2,001.3 million in the same month of the previous year.

Imports saw growth of 44.5% in October 2021, reaching a value of 2,031.6 million euros. Energy imports increased by 194.6%, and non-energy imports were up 22.4%.

Provinces

Bizkaia registered the largest growth in exports, with 24.4%, due to the rise in “Metals and articles thereof” (10.2%) and, above all, in “Mineral and Energy Products” (403.3%), which, with an increase of 108 million, this month accounted for 15.7% of the total exported from this province. The increase in Gipuzkoa was 15.2% as a result of the rises in “Metals and articles thereof” (35.8%), “Paper & Manufactured” (30.8%) and “Transport Material” (15.2%). The balance was also positive in Álava, with an increase of 3.7%, thus overcoming the slight decrease seen in the previous month (-0.8%). This change in trend occurred in this province due to the upturn of 26.1% in “Metals and articles thereof”, despite the modest decline in “Transport Material” (-3.6%).

As regards imports, it was once again Bizkaia that accounted for the highest growth (84.1%), owing to the rise in acquisitions of “Mineral and Energy Products” (190.3%), with 360.8 million more than the previous year, and “Metals and articles thereof” (85.5%). Growth in Gipuzkoa stood at 25.0%, primarily because of the increases in “Metals and articles thereof” (36.5%) and “Electrical Material” (25.4%); there was a drop of 1.1% in Álava based on “Electrical Material” (-16.2%), “Transport Material” (-18.8%) and “Optical and precision apparatus” (-41.1%), despite a 57.0% rise in imports of “Metals and articles thereof”.

Activity Branches (A86)

Analysing the largest activity branches, and in relation to exports, standing out this October were the increases in exports of “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (420.3%) and “Iron & Steel Products” (54.6%). In the latter case, the phenomenon occurred in all three provinces, but especially in Gipuzkoa, with an increase of 96.3% (88.8 million in exports) and in Bizkaia, with 57.8% (130.2 million). “Naval Construction” also experienced strong growth this month, concentrated in Gipuzkoa, with a rate above 10,000%, for sales of 39 million. Products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” saw a decrease of 9.1% (49 million down on October 2020). This latter activity branch (first in the export ranking) fell in all three provinces, but especially in Gipuzkoa (-24.5%) and Bizkaia (-22.5%), while in Álava the decrease was less pronounced (-3.5%).

In relation to imports, it can be observed that the largest activity branch, “Extraction & Petroleum Industries” (25.2% of the total), saw a rise of 305.5%. There was also a significant increase in purchases of “Iron & Steel Products” (98.4%) and more modest growth in purchases of “General Use Machinery” (8.7%). Furthermore, of particular note this month was the considerable growth in “Waste Management and Remediation Services” (91.4%) in all three provinces, where the value of imports almost doubled during the same month of the previous year.

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals year-on-year rises in exports of “Refined Petroleum Oils” (585.8%), with an increase of 92 million in respect of the same month of the previous year, and “Railway or tramway maintenance or service vehicles” (4,713.2%). There was also growth in exports of “Iron or Non-Alloy Steel Sections” (121.5%), “Flat, hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products of a width exceeding 599 mm” (148.0%), “Electrical Transformers, Static Converters & Inductors” (157.1%) and “Unwrought aluminium” (124.0%).

One of the customs duty groups that is traditionally among the largest, “Goods Transport Vehicles”, registered negative growth rates for yet another month (four this year), with a decrease of 14.5%, and its exports fell by 26.6 million compared to the same month of the previous year.

In the case of imports, there was a sharp rise in “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (314.0%), 332 million and 485,828 tonnes more than in the same period of the previous year, and in “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (379.3%), with a year-on-year increase of 60,553 tonnes and 52 million euros more than in October 2020 (it went from 13.8 million to 66 million), an increase solely in “Natural gas”. There was also a notable rise in imports of “Flat, hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products of a width exceeding 599 mm” (224.2%), “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (115.5%) and “Corn” (690.5%).

Also standing out among the 25 main import duty groups, but in the opposite direction, were the decreases in “Refined Petroleum Oils” (-56.3%) and “Internal combustion engines, diesel or semi-diesel” (-48.9%).

Source/destination countries

In October 2021, five countries (France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 49.8% of the total. Three of them belong to the EU27, an entity that accounts for 62% of Basque exports.

As regards the main supplier countries, this month they were: Germany (293 million), France (193 million), Mexico (127 million), China (123 million) and Italy (103 million), which together accounted for 41.3% of the total imported.

ANNUAL CUMULATIVE TOTAL

Foreign trade in the Basque Country generated a surplus of more than 4,000 million euros over the first ten months of 2021

During the first ten months of 2021, exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 22.3% (3,826 million more than the previous year), reaching 20,984 million euros. For yet another month, it can be seen that figures were still below pre-pandemic levels, given that the cumulative values for the period in question were 253.7 million euros lower than those for 2019.

The cumulative total of imports up to October rose to 16,937.3 million, that is, 4,016.6 million more than in the same period of the previous tax year, representing an increase of 31.1%.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country during the first ten months of 2021 generated a positive balance of 4,046.6 million euros, with a coverage rate of 123.9%.

Provinces

Bizkaia stood out during this period in terms of export activity, as, with a year-on-year increase of 31.8%, it was the leader in exports, reaching 8,412.6 million euros. In Álava, the rise stood at 17.1% (5,994.6 million euros) and in Gipuzkoa it was 16.3% (6,576.7 million euros).

As regards imports, the performance was more even in the three provinces: Bizkaia saw an increase of 36.2% and imported goods to the value of 9,530.0 million euros, followed by Gipuzkoa with 3,757.6 million, up 27.7%, and Álava with 22.5% and a contribution of 3,649.8 million to the Basque Country total.

Products

Considering the type of product, it was Non-energy Products, with a year-on-year increase of 3,495 million (21.3%), which most contributed to the growth in exports, while Energy Products also recorded 331.5 million more than the previous year (42.3%).

Imports of Energy products rose by 47.4% and those of Non-energy Products were up 27.3%.

Destination countries

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent in this period was topped by Germany, with 16.2% of the total exported, followed by France (16.0%), the United Kingdom (6.8%), the United States (6.1%) and Belgium with 5.3%. These five countries accounted for half of Basque exports (50.4%), with 10,570 million euros. If we add Italy (5.2%), the Netherlands (5.0%), Portugal (4.3%), China (2.7%) and Poland (2.4%) to the aforementioned states, the cumulative total for the first ten months of 2021 amounted to 14,674 million euros and represented 70.0% of total Basque exports.

Activity Branches (A86)

Among the largest activity branches by export volume, of particular note was “Iron and Steel products”, with an increase of 45.9% compared to the same period of the previous year, exceeding it by 726.6 million euros to reach 2,310 million. There was also considerable growth in exports of “Agricultural and livestock products” (160.9%), “Non-ferrous Metals” (48.9%), “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (42.3%), “Electrical Material & Equipment” (22.0%), “Rubber Products” (19.3%), among others, and, particularly, “Naval Construction” (1,268.6%).

The branch of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (4,513.4 million and 21.5% of the total) registered cumulative growth of 14.2% at the end of October 2021, with 561 million more than in 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 31.3% and those following it in terms of volume also grew, especially “Iron and Steel products” (55.5%) and, most notably, “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (133.9%) (refined oil).

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals that, within exports, only two of the top 25 customs duty groups had negative growth rates: “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-21.0%) and “Railway or Tramway Vehicle Parts” (-14.8%). 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” (16.2%), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (26.4%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (5.6%), “Refined Petroleum Oils” (38.9%) and “New Rubber Tyres” (15.9%). These groups comprised the leading Basque export group, with a cumulative total of 6,221.6 million euros, accounting for 29.6% of exports from the Basque Country.

If we carry out the same analysis for imports, of particular relevance was the significant increase in purchases of “Refined Petroleum Oils” (128.1%), which, in the period in question, accumulated 785 million euros compared to 344 million in the same period of the previous year, going from 1,103 tonnes to 1,690 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