Press Release 17/02/2022

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). December 2021

Exports from the Basque Country grew by 23% in 2021 and exceeded pre-pandemic figures for 2019

France and Germany were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, followed by the United Kingdom, the United States and Belgium

In 2021, exports of goods from the Basque Country grew by 23.0% (4,800.9 million more than the previous year), reaching 25,665 million euros, according to Eustat data. Over the course of the year, the cumulative total for 2019 was reached and even surpassed by 179.6 million.

Foreign trade in the Basque Country in 2021 generated a positive balance of 4,605.5 million euros, with a coverage rate of 121.9%.

Provinces

Bizkaia stood out during this period in terms of export activity, as, with a year-on-year increase of 31.2%, it was the leader in exports, reaching 10,205 million euros. In Álava, the rise stood at 19.4% (7,340.5 million euros) and in Gipuzkoa it was 17.1% (8,120 million euros).

As regards imports, Bizkaia saw an increase of 41.9% and imported goods to the value of 11,879.6 million euros, followed by Gipuzkoa with 4,650.3 million, up 29.3%, and, lastly, Álava with 21.3% and a contribution of 4,529.9 million to the Basque Country total.

Products

Considering the type of product, it was Non-energy Products, with a year-on-year increase of 4,387.1 million (22.0%), which most contributed to the growth in exports, while Energy Products also recorded 413.8 million more than the previous year (43.5%).

Imports of Energy products rose by 57.6% and those of Non-energy Products were up 28.8%.

Destination countries

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent in this period was topped by France, with 16.1% of the total exported (4,120 million euros), surpassing Germany, which ultimately took second place with 15.9% and 4,092 million. After these two countries came the United Kingdom (1,695 million and 6.6% of the total), the United States (1,592 million and 6.2%) and Belgium (1,362 million and 5.3%). These five countries accounted for half of Basque exports (50.1%), with 12,861 million euros. If we add Italy (5.3% and 1,351 million), the Netherlands (5.0% and 1,294 million), Portugal (4.4% and 1,117 million), China (2.6% and 665 million) and, lastly, Poland (2.3% and 602 million) to the aforementioned countries, the total amounted to 17,889.8 million euros, representing 69.7% of total Basque exports.

Activity Branches (A86)

Among the largest activity branches by export volume in 2021, of particular note was “Iron and Steel products”, with an increase of 50.2% compared to the previous year, exceeding it by 955.6 million euros to reach 2,858.8 million. There was also considerable growth in exports of “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (44.9%), “Non-ferrous Metals” (41.8%), “Electrical Material & Equipment” (21.7%), “Rubber Products” (18.3%) and, particularly, “Naval Construction” (239.5%), among others.

The branch of products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” (5,543.7 million and 21.6% of the total) registered cumulative growth of 15.6% at the end of December 2021, with 746.7 million more than in the same period of the previous year, and consolidated its predominance in the export ranking of the Basque Country.

For imports, it is worth highlighting that the largest branch, “Mineral and Extraction Industries” (crude oil), was up 44.9% and those following it in terms of volume also grew, especially “Iron and Steel products” (59.9%) and, most notably, “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” (116.7%) (refined oil).

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals that, within exports, three of the top 25 customs duty groups had negative growth rates: “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (-10.6%), “Unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining” (-20.5%) and “Railway or Tramway Vehicle Parts” (-4.0%). 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” (19.4%), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (23.0%), “Goods Transport Vehicles” (7.1%), “Refined Petroleum Oils” (44.9%) and “New Rubber Tyres” (15.6%). These groups comprised the leading Basque export group, with a cumulative total of 7,591 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 increase in purchases of “Refined Petroleum Oils” (111.9%), which in 2021 represented 977.7 million euros compared to 461.3 million in the previous year, going from 1,437,460 tonnes to 2,004,539 tonnes, i.e. 567,078 tonnes more, which is almost the same number of tonnes by which imports of “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” decreased (-557,467 tonnes). Another customs duty group that grew considerably in this period was “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (93.3%). Attention should also be drawn to the rise in monetary imports of “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases”, with an increase of 40.8%. However, in terms of volume, this represented a decrease of 25.1%, as it went from 1.37 million tonnes to one million.

December 2021

There was a rise in exports of goods from the Basque Country of 27.0% in December 2021. Exports of energy products increased by 30.9% and those of non-energy products (94% of the total value) were up 26.8%. Exports stood at 2,081.1 million euros compared to 1,638.3 million in the same month of the previous year.

Imports saw growth of 51.5% in December 2021, reaching 1,958.8 million euros. Energy imports rose by 206.5%, and non-energy imports were up 29.3%.

Provinces

Exports in Gipuzkoa grew by 26.1% this month, owing to the increase in “Metals and articles thereof” (79.2%) and in “Transport Material” (52.2%). The increase in Bizkaia was 27.5% as a result of the rises in “Fats and Oils” (393.5%), “Chemical Products” (100.4%), “Mineral and Energy Products” (30.7%), “Metals and articles thereof” (15.7%) and “Electrical Material” (22.7%). Álava also recorded an increase of 27.5%, due to growth of 37.5% in “Transport Material” and 24.8% in “Metals and articles thereof”.

As regards imports, it was Bizkaia that saw the greatest increase (92.3%), thanks to acquisitions of “Mineral and Energy Products” (188.2%), with 332.8 million more than the previous year, “Metals and articles thereof” (58.9%) and “Vegetable Products” (315.2%). Growth in Gipuzkoa stood at 40.3%, primarily because of the increases in “Metals and articles thereof” (47.5%) and “Electrical Material & Equipment” (54.1%). In Álava, however, there was a decline of 4.1%, based on “Transport Material” (-47.2%) and “Electrical Material” (-15.4%), which would have been even greater were it not for the upturn in “Metals and articles thereof” (52.9%).

Activity Branches (A86)

Analysing the largest activity branches for the Basque Country as a whole, and in relation to exports, standing out once again was the increase in “Iron and Steel products” (81.9%) in all three provinces, but above all in Gipuzkoa (105.7 million in exports), followed by Bizkaia (93 million) and Álava (52 million). “Paints and other chemical finishes” also experienced strong growth (221.4%), concentrated in Bizkaia, with sales of 69 million. Products relating to the “Manufacture of motor vehicles” owe their 28.4% increase (92 million more than in December 2020) to the 269 million exported this month from the province of Álava and the 91 million exported from Gipuzkoa. In Gipuzkoa, there was also strong year-on-year growth in “Other Transport Material”, which, with 70 million, significantly contributed to the 83.9% rise in this activity branch in the Basque Country as a whole. “Coke Plants & Oil Refining” posted a 41.1% increase.

In relation to imports, it is worth noting that the largest activity branch, “Extraction & Petroleum Industries”, grew by 182.7%, “Coke Plants & Oil Refining”, second in the ranking, saw an increase of 275.3%, as did “Iron & Steel Products” (71.5%), which came in third place this month. The “Agriculture, Livestock and Hunting” activity branch also rose considerably (157.1%), primarily in Bizkaia, with 81.6 million euros in imports from this province.

Largest customs duty groups

A more detailed look reveals year-on-year rises in exports of “Refined Petroleum Oils” (59.5%), with an increase of 44.3 million in respect of the same month of the previous year, and “Iron or Non-Alloy Steel Sections” (233.6% and 53.7 million more than in December 2020), which together accounted for a total of 75 million euros in exports for Gipuzkoa. There was also considerable growth in exports of “Plant or animal fats and oils for industrial technical use” (431.6%), which reached 30 million euros in the case of Bizkaia. Likewise, there was a major upturn within the vehicle sector, as its six largest customs duty groups registered significant increases, especially “Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver” (268.4%), with 45 million in exports from Gipuzkoa, and “Railway or tramway maintenance or service vehicles” (3,238.0%), with 53 million in exports from Gipuzkoa. Similarly, there were rises in exports of “Goods Transport Vehicles” (31.2%), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (9.1%), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (20.5%) and “New Rubber Tyres” (6.8%). In contrast, the most significant decrease was in “Unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining” (-60.0%).

In the case of imports, there was a sharp rise in purchases of “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (216.6%), which represented 234 million euros and 288,463 tonnes more than in December 2020, and “Refined Petroleum Oils” (278.6%), primarily “Diesel”, with 105.6 million and 174,201 tonnes in imports. In contrast to previous months, of particular note was the absence of imports of “Natural gas”; this phenomenon has only occurred on four occasions in the last ten years (December 2013, March 2014, January 2015 and June 2016).

There was a notable rise this month in imports of “Soya Beans, Whether or Not Broken” (332.3%), with purchases of 64.6 million, and “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel” (72.2%). On the other hand, decreases were recorded in “Internal combustion engines, diesel or semi-diesel” (-48.9%) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (-43.7%).

Source/destination customers

In December 2021, five countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and Belgium) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 48.9% of the total. Four of them belong to the EU27, an entity that accounts for 63% of Basque exports. The United Kingdom dropped to eighth place in the ranking this month, having also been overtaken by Italy and Portugal.

As regards the main supplier countries, they were: Germany (230 million), France (195 million), China (178 million), Russia (142 million) and the Netherlands (123 million), which together accounted for 44% of the total imported.

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