Press Release 20/07/2023

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). May 2023

Exports from the Basque Country were down 13.5% in May 2023

In the cumulative total for the first five months of 2023, exports grew by 6.6% and imports increased by 3.0%

In May 2023 and compared to the same month of the previous year, exports of goods from the Basque Country (2,827.3 million euros) registered a drop of 13.5%, according to Eustat data. This trend was seen in both energy products (-53.3%) and non-energy products (-10.3%).

The import flow (2,471.7 million) also saw a decrease of 5.1%, which was evident in both energy imports (-7.4%) and non-energy imports (-4.5%). However, in terms of weight (tonnes), the year-on-year variations in both energy imports (14.6%) and non-energy imports (22.1%) were positive.

This month, there was a positive trade balance of 355.6 million euros and a coverage rate of 114.4%, all measured in nominal terms.

The balance for the first five months of 2023 showed a 6.6% increase in exports, with growth of 9.5% in non-energy products and a decline of 28.8% in energy products. With regard to imports, the balance closed with a rise of 3.0%; there was a 3.7% increase in energy products and non-energy products were up 2.7%.

All three provinces registered decreases in exports in May 2023, albeit to varying degrees: the drop stood at 24.7% in Bizkaia and 7.9% in Gipuzkoa, while in Álava it was just 2.6%.

More than half of the goods exported from Álava this month consisted of “Transport material” (58.5%), despite a year-on-year decline of 5.3% (532.5 million in exports). Exports were also down in other customs duty groups, such as “Metals and articles thereof” (-9.7%), “Food products” (-8.9%) and “Chemical products” (-32.1%).

In Bizkaia, there was a drop in exports of “Mineral and energy products” (-51.7%), with 128.5 million less than in the same month of the previous year, “Metals and articles thereof” (-28.1%) and “Chemical products” (-43%). On the other hand, sales were up in “Fats and oils” (22.9%) and “Animal products” (26.9%).

In Gipuzkoa, there was a downturn of 10.3% in “Electrical equipment, machinery & devices”, 18.7% in “Metals and articles thereof”, 16.8% in “Paper and articles thereof” and as much as 41.8% in “Chemical products”. Meanwhile, exports of “Transport material” amounted to 152.9 million euros in May 2023, following an increase of 47.3%.

Source/destination countries, May 2023

In May 2023, five countries (Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 51.7% (1,462.9 million) of the total exported. Three of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 63.3%.

Exports to Germany this month stood at 479.5 million euros, with those of “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (112.8 million), “Goods transport vehicles” (96.1 million) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (37.9 million) predominating, for a total of 422 different products.

673 types of products were sent to France, accounting for a total of 418.4 million euros. Standing out among these were “Vehicle parts and accessories” (30.5 million) and “New rubber tyres” (26.2 million).

The United States, with 210.4 million, came in third place, with the majority of exports in “Goods transport vehicles” (34 million), “Refined petroleum oils” (25 million) and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (22.3 million), totalling 341 different products.

The United Kingdom accounted for 178.3 million of total exports from the Basque Country, of which 20.2 million corresponded to “Iron or non-alloy steel sections”, 14.8 million to “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” and 10.4 million to “New rubber tyres”.

Exports to Belgium amounted to 176.2 million euros and this month’s transactions were dominated by “Refined petroleum oils” (42.2 million), “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (27.7 million) and “Unrefined copper” (15.6 million).

This month, 55.5% of Basque imports came from the EU27. One of the standout countries in terms of imports was Germany (364.1 million), with imports consisting mainly of “Vehicle parts and accessories” (41.8 million) and “Internal combustion engines, diesel or semi-diesel”, with 36.8 million. It is also worth mentioning China, with 196 million, with the leading product in this case being “Electric accumulators and parts thereof”, with 30.3 million. France took third place with 176.4 million, of which 33.1 million corresponded to “Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel”. The Netherlands was a major importer this May, with a total of 150.5 million traded, with “Refined petroleum oils” (39.3 million) and “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (33 million) accounting for almost half of the total.

This month, energy imports were distributed as follows: 123.7 million euros from Kazakhstan, 78.3 million from the Netherlands, 70.7 million from Mexico, 57.5 million from the United States, 46.9 million from Norway, 43.3 million from Iraq, 38.5 million from the United Kingdom, 31.3 million from Kuwait, 19.8 million from Portugal and 1.4 million from Germany. The remainder, totalling 512 million euros, were distributed among 22 countries.

Products traded, May 2023

A more detailed look reveals that in May 2023 the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 40.2% of exports, with a combined value of 1,136.2 million euros.

Of particular note within this set of products, due to their significance and negative performance, were “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (year-on-year variation rate of -5.4%) with 263.4 million in exports, 15.1 million less than in the same month of the previous year, “Goods transport vehicles” (-5% and 202 million euros in exports) and “Refined petroleum oils” (-56.6% and 92.1 million). By contrast, among the top traded products with positive growth rates were “New rubber tyres”, up 9% (122.3 million), and “Lifts, Escalators, Transporters, etc.”, whose exports rose by 116.3% (40.5 million). If we widen the scope of the analysis to include the top 25 positions in the export ranking, we can see significant growth rates in groups such as: “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (365.5%), “Railway or tramway vehicle parts” (48.7%) and “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” (39.9%). On the other hand, it should be pointed out that there were decreases in sales of “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (-65.1%), “Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm” (-44.6%), “Other iron or steel articles” (-33.1%) and “Stainless steel bars and sections” (-14.6%), among others.

In the case of imports, the largest customs duty group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (16% of the total), registered a drop of 19.5%, 95.9 million less than in the same month of 2022, making a total of 396.3 million in imports. However, if we make the comparison in tonnes, imports increased from 687,790 tonnes in May 2022 to 780,330 tonnes in the same month of 2023, which was a rise of 13.5%.

There was significant growth in imports of “Refined petroleum oils”, with 91 million in imports. Notable increases were also recorded for “Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated” (25%), “Soya beans, whether or not broken” (17.6%), “Other preparations and products of the chemical and allied industries” (63%) and “Mixtures of odoriferous substances used in the food and beverage industries” (74.7%), all of which are on the list of the most imported items.

ÁLAVA. Exports during May 2023

In Álava, exports fell by 2.6%. Only three of the top ten export duty groups registered positive variations in May. These were: “New rubber tyres”, whose exports rose by 39.4% to reach a value of 52.6 million euros; “Stainless steel in ingots or other primary forms”, with an increase of 29% and exports worth 8.6 million, and “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel”, up 6.5% (56.6 million). The other groups posted decreases of varying degrees, ranging from -4.9% for “Goods transport vehicles” (201.5 million) to -23.2% for “Stoppers, caps and other packing accessories of base metal” (9.2 million) to -33% for “Other tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” (15 million).

BIZKAIA. Exports during May 2023

Exports from the province of Bizkaia were down 24.7%. “Refined petroleum oils”, first in the export ranking for Bizkaia, registered a decline of 57.2%, with exports for this group amounting to 90.4 million. Another significant drop was seen in “Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff”, with exports falling by 66.4% this month to just 32.5 million. Together with “Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm” (-48.9% and 23.2 million), these two groups accounted for the largest decreases within the most notable groups for Bizkaia. On the other hand, there were upturns in exports of “Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components” (41% and 25.5 million), “Other cast iron or steel articles” (23.1% and 18.3 million) and “Vehicle parts and accessories” (5.4% and 74.9 million).

GIPUZKOA. Exports during May 2023

Exports from Gipuzkoa fell by 7.9% in May 2023 compared to the same month of 2022. Considerable growth of more than 100% was recorded in “Diesel and electric motor units for railway tracks and motorised trams” (365.5% and 21.3 million in exports), “Vehicles for transporting 10 or more people, including the driver” (183.7% and 18.5 million in exports) and “Lifts, Escalators, Transporters, etc.” (139.9% and 34.8 million). Another significant increase, in terms of the weight of the group in the total exported, was seen in “Vehicle parts and accessories” (19.2% and 71.7 million in exports).

Of particular note among the main customs duty groups were the decreases registered in “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (-31% and 30.9 million), “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (-15.1% and 62.6 million), “Other iron or steel articles” (-18.6% and 18.7 million) and “Padlocks, locks, bolts and keys made of base metals” (-13.4% and 19.7 million).

You can find more information by accessing the foreign trade data search application Elkano

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