Press Release 18/10/2022

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). August 2022

Exports of goods from the Basque Country rose by 27.8% in August 2022

The cumulative foreign trade balance for the first eight months of 2022 generated a surplus of over 2,000 million euros

In August 2022 and compared to the same month of the previous year, exports of goods from the Basque Country (2,170 million euros) registered an increase of 27.8%, due to a rise of 61.0% in energy products and 24.6% in non-energy products, according to Eustat data.

Imports (2,238 million) saw growth of 36.0%. Non-energy imports rose by 31.7%, and energy imports increased by 46.7%.

In August 2022, there was a negative trade balance (-67.6 million) and a coverage rate of 97.0%.

All three provinces of the Basque Country recorded positive growth rates, with percentage increases of 31.0% in Bizkaia, 30.8% in Gipuzkoa and 17.0% in Álava. Non-energy exports grew by 23.2% in Bizkaia, 16.9% in Álava and 31.0% in Gipuzkoa. Energy exports were up 62.1% in the case of Bizkaia.

In Álava, most exports were in “Transport material” (35.5% of the total), with a decrease of 0.2% for a total of 155.9 million in exports; “Metals and articles thereof” (with a year-on-year increase of 79.1%) and “Plastics, rubber and articles thereof” (15.5%), these being the three largest “customs duty groups” for yet another month.

In Gipuzkoa, sales rose in the three main customs duty groups: “Metals and articles thereof” (38.2%), “Paper and manufactured” (43.6%) and “Transport material” (71.9%).

Bizkaia saw upturns in exports of “Metals and articles thereof” (11.0%), “Electrical equipment, machinery & devices” (15.2%) and “Mineral and energy products” (60.3%); among the most significant customs duty groups, there was a decline in exports of “Chemical products” (-25.6%) and “Transport material” (-2.1%). Of particular note this month was the sharp rise in exports of “Fats and oils” (536.6%).

Source/destination countries, August 2022

In August 2022, five countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 52.2% (1,132.9 million) of the total exported. Four of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 67.9%.

Exports to France grew by 14.7%, to Germany by 21.5%, to the Netherlands by 69.1%, to Belgium by 104.6% and to the United Kingdom by 17.5%. There was also a rise in exports to Italy (7.6%), Portugal (47.3%) and Sweden (196.0%). Outside Europe, sales to the United States increased (6.2%), while exports to China (-26.4%) and Russia (-59.6%) decreased.

46.7% of Basque imports came from the EU27. One of the standout European countries in terms of imports was Ireland , with a year-on-year increase of 165.1%. There was also a rise in imports from Sweden (49.4%), France (40.1%), the Netherlands (30.7%), Germany (24.0%) and Italy (8.5%). The growth rate was positive for 21 of the countries in the European Union. In the case of the United Kingdom, there was a drop of 34.3%. Looking at the rest of the world, we can see that there were also increases in imports from China (30.6% with 177.9 million in imports), Mexico (28.4% and 127.5 million), Angola (112.4% and 102.4 million) and the United States (520.3% and 267.3 million); imports from the latter three countries were energy-related. In the case of Russia, there was a drop of 98.9%, going from 194.7 million in August 2021 to 2.2 million in the same month of 2022, with all imports corresponding to “non-energy” products.

Basque energy imports were distributed as follows: 344 million from America (49.5%), of which 220.5 million came from the United States, 183 million from Asia (26.4%), 102 million from Africa (14.8%) and 65 million from Europe (9.3%).

Products traded, August 2022

A more detailed look reveals that in August 2022 the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 38.8% of exports, with a combined value of 842 million euros.

Of particular relevance within this group was the increase in “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (1,720.0% and 47.2 million more than in the same month of the previous year) and, if we widen the scope to include the 25 most notable customs duty groups, it is worth highlighting “Plant or animal fats and oils for industrial technical use”, which went from 0 to 21.5 million in exports, and “Soya-bean oil” (2,201.2% and 17.9 million). Other products that registered a sharp rise were “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (going from 0 to 78.6 million in exports) and “Refined petroleum oils” (72.8% and 95.5 million more than in the same month of the previous year).

There was also considerable growth in groups such as: “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (87.7% with 38 million in exports), “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (54.9% and 48.7 million) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (24.0% and 165.9 million).

Only two of the top twenty-five export duty groups recorded negative growth rates: “Goods transport vehicles” (-13.8% with 45.1 million in exports) and “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (-36.7% and 28.9 million).

In the case of imports, the largest customs duty group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (17.9% of the total), saw growth of 28.6%, 89 million more than in the same month of 2021, making a total of 400.7 million in imports, with 176.2 million coming from Kazakhstan, 122.1 million from Mexico, 102.4 million from Angola and 47 thousand euros from Germany.

This positive trend was seen in the majority of the main customs duty groups, with a significant increase in “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (326.8% with 220.8 million in imports), practically all of it “Natural gas” (99.9%) from the United States (220.5 million). It is also worth highlighting the rises in “Sunflower-seed oil” (220.6% with 19 million), “Mixtures of odoriferous substances used in the food and beverage industries” (186.9% and 63.3 million), “Other preparations and products of the chemical and allied industries” (176.7% and 82 million) and “Unwrought aluminium” (60.6% and 32 million).

ÁLAVA. Exports during August 2022

In Álava, exports grew by 17%, largely due to the sharp rise seen this month in “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (268.0% with 34.6 million in exports, 25.2 million more than in the same month of the previous year). Other groups that contributed to this export effort were “Parts of powered or non-powered aircraft, manned or unmanned, and parts of satellites and spacecraft”, with 9.5 million in exports, “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (4.9% with 59.2 million in exports), “New rubber tyres” (22.1% and 36.9 million) and “Other tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (50.2% and 17.8 million), among others.

BIZKAIA. Exports during August 2022

Exports from the province of Bizkaia were up 31.0% on the previous year. Of the ten main customs duty groups, which accounted for 52.7% of the total, those that registered the highest growth rates were: “Refined petroleum oils” (74.2% with 225.3 million in exports), “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (2,261.3% with 47.9 million in exports), “Soya-bean oil” (2,201.2% and 17.9 million), “Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm” (72.2% and 40.4 million), “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” (65.1% and 17 million) and “Plant or animal fats and oils for industrial technical use”, with 21.5 million in exports.

GIPUZKOA. Exports during August 2022

Exports from Gipuzkoa were up 30.8%; of particular note among the main customs duty groups were the increases registered in “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (with a total of 78.6 million in exports, of which 24.5 million went to Sweden, 23.1 million to the Netherlands, 17.2 million to the United Kingdom, 11 million to Belgium and 2.7 million to Norway), “Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver” (2,115.2% and 14.7 million in exports, of which 12.1 million went to Bulgaria, 1.3 million to Israel and 0.9 million to the United Kingdom), “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (60.1% and 46.3 million) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (31.2% and 61.2 million).

CUMULATIVE TOTAL (JANUARY-AUGUST) 2022: the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 2,026 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 110.5%

For the first eight months of 2022 as a whole, and for exports from the Basque Country, an increase of 30.8% was registered compared to the same period of the previous year, which represented a rise of 5,038.7 million euros. The total amount of exports for this period stood at 21,389 million euros; with the greatest contribution to this figure from Bizkaia, with 8,889.1 million (41.6% of the total), followed by Gipuzkoa (6,532.6 million) and Álava (5,967.3 million).

Bizkaia exports also saw the highest year-on-year rise (35.2%), 2,314 million more than in 2021. In Álava, exports rose by 27.8% (1,297.5 million more) and they were up 28.0% in Gipuzkoa (1,427.3 million more).

Considering the type of product exported, growth can be seen in exports of both “Energy products”, with 1,069.2 million more, and “Non-energy products”, which exceeded the cumulative total for the same period of 2021 by 3,969.5 million.

The ten most exported products (export duty groups) accounted for 40.8% of exports, reaching a total of 8,729.6 million. All but one of the top 31 positions in the export ranking showed positive growth rates.

“Refined petroleum oils” was the group with the highest volume of exports from the Basque Country, with 1,746.9 million in exports and a growth rate of 149.1%.

Among the products with the highest growth were “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams”, with 800.2% and 305.9 million in exports, and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (116.3% and 426.3 million). For the other products in this list, noteworthy growth ranged from 13.5% (1,542.8 million in exports) for “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” to 56.0% (369.7 million) for “Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm”.

Other significant increases include those recorded in “Iron or non-alloy steel sections”, “Vehicle parts and accessories”, “Goods transport vehicles” and “New rubber tyres”, with positive variations of 51.2%, 20.7%, 20.3% and 19.6%.

The ranking of countries which Basque Country exports were sent to during the period considered was topped by France (3,306.5 million), closely followed by Germany (3,269.1 million) and, at a greater distance, by countries including the Netherlands (1,468 million), the United States (1,370.7 million) and the United Kingdom (1,333.8 million). Between them, these five countries accounted for 55.6% of Basque exports.

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole amounted to 19,363 million euros. Comparing this figure in year-on-year terms, we see that it exceeded the equivalent for the same period of 2021 by 6,341.2 million. This increase (48.7%) was largely due to the fact that the province of Bizkaia (with imports of 11,857 million) registered an upturn of 63.9%, that is, a rise of 4,622.3 million compared to the same period of the previous year. Imports also grew in Álava, up 28.7% with 827.9 million euros more, and in Gipuzkoa, where there was a rise of 30.7% and 891 million euros more; the value of imports in these two provinces stood at 3,714.3 and 3,791.7 million euros, respectively.

Imports of “Energy products” were 116.1% higher than in the same period of the previous year and those of “Non-energy products” were up 31.7%.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country during the first eight months of 2022 had a positive balance of 2,026 million euros, maintaining a positive coverage rate of 110.5%.

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