Press Release 16/02/2023

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). December 2022

All-time record for exports from the Basque Country: over 32,500 million euros in exports in 2022

In 2022, the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 3,127 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 110.6%

Exports of goods from the Basque Country reached a total value of 32,538 million euros in 2022, according to Eustat data. Compared to 2021, exports were up 26.8% on the 25,665 million euros traded the year before, due to a rise of 108.8% in energy products and 22.2% in non-energy products.

This makes the figure for 2022 the highest recorded in the historical export series, far exceeding the 25,788 million registered in 2018 (with an increase of 26.2%), which was, until now, the year with the highest value of exports.

In the case of imports (29,411 million), the increase stood at 39.7% in relation to 2021. Energy imports rose by 88%, while non-energy imports were up 26.3%. 2022 also saw the highest value for imports in the historical series, followed by the previous year (2021) when 21,060 million euros’ worth of goods were imported.

There was a coverage rate of 110.6% and a positive trade balance of 3,127 million in 2022, thanks to the fact that the balance of non-energy products (8,862 million euros) managed to offset the negative balance of energy-related products (5,735 million).

The year’s outstanding performance in terms of exports was also reflected in each of the provinces, with all three recording historic highs. The greatest contribution to the boost in exports came from Bizkaia, with 13,291.8 million (40.8% of the total), followed by Gipuzkoa (9,904.7 million) and Álava (9,341.9 million).

Exports in Bizkaia also saw the highest year-on-year rise (30.2%), 3,086.8 million more than in 2021. In Álava, exports rose by 27.3% (2,001.5 million more) and they were up 22.0% in Gipuzkoa (1,784.7 million more).

Considering the type of product exported, growth can be seen in exports of both “Energy products”, with 1,485.6 million more, and “Non-energy products”, which exceeded those registered in 2021 by 5,387.4 million.

The ten most exported products (export duty groups) accounted for 41.1% of exports, reaching a total of 13,381.4 million.

“Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” was the group with the highest volume of exports from the Basque Country, with 2,637.3 million in exports and a growth rate of 25.7%.

Among the products with the highest growth were “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams”, with 1,233.7% and 458.4 million exported, “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (105.9% and 674.7 million) and “Refined petroleum oils” (122.4% with 2,620.6 million).

Other significant increases include those recorded in “Iron or non-alloy steel sections”, “Goods transport vehicles”, “Vehicle parts and accessories” and “New rubber tyres”, with positive variations of 32.5%, 13.0%, 20.5% and 16.4%.

It is also worth mentioning “Biodiesel and mixtures thereof” (126.1% with 238 million in exports) and “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (119.3% for a cumulative total over the course of 2022 of 501.4 million).

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole during 2022 amounted to 29,411.5 million euros. Comparing this figure in year-on-year terms, we see that it exceeded the equivalent for the same period of 2021 by 8,351.6 million. This increase (39.7%) was largely due to the fact that the province of Bizkaia (with imports of 17,971.3 million) registered an upturn of 51.3%, that is, a rise of 6,091.6 million compared to the same period of the previous year. Imports also increased in Álava, up 26.3% with 1,191.6 million euros more, and in Gipuzkoa, where there was a rise of 23.0% and 1,068.3 million euros more; the value of imports in these two provinces stood at 5,721.6 and 5,718.7 million, respectively, with a slight difference between them of almost 3 million euros.

Imports of “Energy products” were 88% higher than in the previous year and those of “Non-energy products” were up 26.3%.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country during 2022 had a positive balance of 3,127 million euros, maintaining a positive coverage rate of 110.6%.

Source/destination countries in 2022

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent was topped by Germany (5,000 million), very closely followed by France (4,958 million) and at a greater distance by the United States (2,258 million), the Netherlands (2,011 million) and the United Kingdom (1,983 million). Between them, these five countries accounted for nearly 50% of exports.

Other noteworthy countries were Italy (1,753 million), Belgium (1,747 million), Portugal (1,468 million) and, at a greater distance, Poland (738 million) and China (712 million), which together made up the top ten destinations for Basque exports, with 69.5%.

As regards imports, Germany (3,770 million in imports) and France (2,466 million in imports) were once again at the forefront of trade relations. Following very closely behind France in terms of volume was China (2,166 million). Other countries with values exceeding one billion per year were Italy and the Netherlands, with 1,326 million and 1,134 million each. If we add Mexico (981.9 million), the United Kingdom (965.6 million), Russia (813.2 million), Ireland (740.4 million) and Belgium (718 million), the top ten source countries accumulated a total of 15,081 million euros, representing 51.3% of the total imported.

The coverage rates stood at 132.6% for Germany and 201.1% for France. In the case of the United States, it achieved a rate of 107.8% in 2022, thus creating a small surplus in the trade balance with regard to this country, after months of deficit. The rate was 177.3% for the Netherlands and 205.4% for the United Kingdom.

ÁLAVA. Exports during 2022

In Álava, exports grew by 27.3%, largely due to the rises seen in “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (with a year-on-year increase of 26.9% and a total of 2,610 million in exports, representing 27.9% of total exports from Álava), “Goods transport vehicles” (13.5% with 1,711.5 million and 18.3% of the total for Álava), “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (242.1% with 582.2 million in exports), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (43.9% and 576.9 million) and “New rubber tyres” (432 million in exports and an increase of 18.0%).

BIZKAIA. Exports during 2022

Exports from the province of Bizkaia were up 30.2% on the previous year. Of the 25 main customs duty groups, the largest contributors to the export effort were: “Refined petroleum oils” (with an increase of 122.9% for a total of 2,598.2 million in exports, accounting for 19.5% of the total for Bizkaia), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (with an increase of 15.1% and a total of 783.7 million), “New rubber tyres” (782.3 million in exports and an increase of 15.4%) and “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (with a year-on-year increase of 125.4% and 475.2 million euros).

GIPUZKOA. Exports during 2022

Exports from Gipuzkoa rose by 22.0% in 2022; 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 an increase of 1,233.7% and a total of 458.4 million in exports, of which 111 million went to the Netherlands, 76 million to Belgium, 72 million to Sweden, 44 million to Israel, 41 million to Norway and 39 million to Finland, out of a group of ten countries), “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (31.5% and 827.8 million), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (12.0% and 747.4 million) and “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (7.4% and 411.1 million in exports).

DECEMBER 2022

In December 2022 and compared to the same month of the previous year, exports of goods from the Basque Country (2,338 million euros) registered an increase of 12.3%, due to a rise of 102.5% in energy products and 6.6% in non-energy products.

Imports (2,463 million) saw growth of 25.7%. Non-energy imports rose by 13.8%, and energy imports increased by 60.9%.

In December 2022, there was a negative trade balance of 125 million and a coverage rate of 94.9%. This negative balance was due to the extraordinary weight of the energy component in the balance, given that energy-related products, with a negative balance of 545 million, cancelled out the positive balance (420 million) registered by non-energy products.

All three provinces of the Basque Country had positive year-on-year growth rates in terms of their exports, with percentage increases of 6.5% in Álava, 22.4% in Bizkaia and 5.5% in Gipuzkoa. Non-energy exports grew by 7.8% in Bizkaia, 6.5% in Álava and 5.5% in Gipuzkoa. Energy exports were up 102.5% in Bizkaia.

In Álava, most exports this month were in “Metals and articles thereof”, with a year-on-year increase of 47.4% for a total of 131.2 million, and “Transport material” (45.9% of the total), which, despite a decrease of 8.2%, reached 258.3 million euros in exports.

In Gipuzkoa, sales rose in “Electrical material, machinery & devices” (14.6%), but fell in “Metals and articles thereof” (-4.0%) and “Transport material” (-20.6%).

Bizkaia, on the other hand, saw upturns in exports of “Transport material” (10.9%), “Electrical material, machinery & devices” (19.7%) and “Mineral and energy products” (103.2%).

Source/destination countries, December 2022

In December 2022, five countries (France, Germany, the United States, Belgium and the United Kingdom) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 50.5% (1,182 million) of the total exported. Three of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 59.3%.

Exports to France grew by 15.2%, to the United States by 75.6%, to the United Kingdom by 20.8% and to Belgium by 27.0%. There was also a rise in exports to Italy (2.7%) and Portugal (2.7%). In contrast, there was a drop in exports to the Netherlands (-39.5%) and Germany (-2.9%). Russian exports fell by 69.5%, going from 22.3 million in December 2021 to 6.8 million in 2022.

45.2% of Basque imports came from the EU27. One of the standout European countries in terms of imports was Germany (365.1 million with a year-on-year increase of 58.9%). There was also a rise in imports from the United Kingdom (64.8% with 129.5 million in imports), but a decrease in those from France (-0.9% with 193 million in imports).

Looking at the rest of the world, we can see that there were also increases in imports from the United States (27.4% with 128.9 million in imports), Mexico (25.4% with 108.8 million), Iraq (97.9 million) and Venezuela (58.6 million). In contrast, there was a decline in imports from China (-9.4% and 161.2 million).

In the case of Russia, there was a rise of 10.0%, going from 142.2 million in December 2021 to 156.3 million in the same month of 2022. 150 million of these imports were “energy” related, specifically “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases” (84.8 million in Natural gas) and “Refined petroleum oils” (65.3 million in Low-sulphur diesel).

Basque energy imports were distributed as follows: 361 million from Europe (45.2%), with 150 million coming from Russia, 95 million from the United Kingdom, 87 million from Norway and 25 million from the Netherlands; 217 million from America (27.2%), with 105 million coming from Mexico, 59 million from Venezuela, 32 million from the United States and 22 million from Trinidad and Tobago; 122 million from Africa (15.3%), mostly from Libya (95.6 million); and, finally, 98 million from Asia (12.3%), entirely from Iraq.

Products traded, December 2022

A more detailed look reveals that in December 2022 the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 37.9% of exports, with a combined value of 886.5 million euros.

Of particular relevance within this group were the growth rates in groups such as: “Refined petroleum oils” (with a positive variation of 93.2% and 229 million in exports, which meant 110.6 million more than in the same month of the previous year), “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (with an increase of 26.2% and 142.2 million in exports),“Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (59.0% with 50.9 million in exports), “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (which went from 0 to 32 million) and “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (with a year-on-year increase of 716.9% and 43.8 million euros in exports).

In the case of imports, the largest customs duty group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (23.1% of the total), saw growth of 66.1%, 226.3 million more than in the same month of 2021, making a total of 568.6 million in imports.

This positive trend was seen in the majority of the main customs duty groups, with significant increases in “Biodiesel and mixtures thereof”, which recorded 26.5 million in imports and 35.2 million in exports, and “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases”, which registered extraordinary growth this month, putting it in second place in the ranking, with 135.4 million in imports.

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