Press Release 17/08/2023

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). June 2023

In June 2023, goods exports fell by 10.1% in the Basque Country

In the first quarter of 2023 as a whole, exports increased by 3.4%, surpassing 17,000 million euros

In June 2023, exports of goods from the Basque Country amounted to 2,888.6 million euros, a nominal decrease of 10.1%, due to a drop of 72.8% in energy products and 3.9% in non-energy products, according to Eustat data.

Imports of goods amounted to 2,368.1 million euros, a decrease of 14.5%. Non-energy imports remained almost unchanged, -0.5%, and energy imports fell by 42.6%.

In June 2023, there was a positive trade balance in the order of 520.5 million euros, with a coverage rate of 122.0%.

This June, only Álava recorded a positive export growth rate, up 5.7%. By contrast, the year-on-year rates were negative for both Gipuzkoa and, in particular, Bizkaia, at 5.7% in the case of Gipuzkoa and as high as 23.9% for Bizkaia. Non-energy exports grew by 5.5% in Álava, fell 10% in Bizkaia and dropped 5.9% in Gipuzkoa. Energy exports decreased by 74.2% in the case of Bizkaia, compared to the same month of the previous year.

In Álava, most exports were in “Transport material” (58% of the total), with a rise of 15.2% for a total of 552.3 million in exports, and “Metals and articles thereof” (16.4% of the total), which fell 23.9%, representing the two largest “customs duty groups” this month. Significant growth was recorded by "Electrical material", 48.4% in June 2023, with exports amounting to 66.5 million.

In Gipuzkoa, three groups accounted for more than three quarters of international trade in June: “Electrical equipment, machinery & devices”, with 33.7%, “Metals and articles thereof”, with 24.6%, and “Transport material”, with 20.2% of the total. In the year-on-year comparison, only the last of these performed positively, with an increase of 29.6%, while the other two, in the same order, fell by 15.3% and 3.6%, respectively.

Bizkaia saw an upturn in exports of "Transport material" (34.3%) and "Plastics, rubber and articles thereof" (0.6%), but there was a drop in "Metals and articles thereof" (-28.9%) and “Electrical equipment, machinery & devices” (-1%), with these four groups accounting for more than seven out of every ten euros exported in the province.

In June 2023, five countries (Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy) were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 50.3% (1,454.1 million) of the total exported. Three of these belong to the EU27, which accounts for 63.6%.

Exports to Germany increased by 11.3%, to China by 30.7%, to Mexico by 43.2%, to the Czech Republic by 11.3% and to Austria by 40.6%. There was also a rise in exports to Slovakia (28.8%) and Romania (28.4%). Conversely, exports to the Netherlands fell by 42.6%, to France by 14.8%, to the United Kingdom by 30.9% and to the United States by 14.6%, focusing on the most significant trading partners.

52.5% of Basque imports came from the EU27. The most important European countries include Germany with a year-on-year increase of 24.6%, Ireland (14.9%), Portugal (8%) and Poland (29%). There was a positive growth rate in 14 out of the 27 countries. An analysis of the rest of the world reveals that imports originating from the United States (24.5%), Mexico (31.9%) and India (103%) also rose, along with those from Venezuela, which amounted to 16.8 million. As regards Russia, in June 2022 products worth 90.8 million euros were imported, compared to 6.5 million in June this year.

This month, our energy imports were distributed as follows: 366 million from the Americas (69.1%), with 112.8 million from the United States, 139.4 million from Mexico, 16.7 million from Venezuela and 69.2 million from Brazil and over 28 million from the Rest of the Americas; 133.7 million from Asia (25.2%); 18.3 million from Africa (3.5%) and 11.7 million from Europe (2.2%).

Products traded in June 2023

A more detailed look reveals that in June 2023 the ten main customs duty groups accounted for 42% of exports, with a combined value of 1,212.3 million euros.

It is worth highlighting the increases in the two main groups, "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" and "Vehicle parts and accessories", which registered a rise of 25.7% in both cases with exports worth 308.7 million for the former product and 225.4 for the latter. There was also growth in "Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff" (379.6% and 41.8 million), "Parts and accessories for machine tools" (107.4% with exports of 30.7 million), "Other cast iron or steel articles” (41.4% and 27.1 million) and “Goods transport vehicles” (18.3% and 202.1 million).

11 of the 25 main export tariff headings registered negative rates. Among the principal groups, it is worth highlighting "Iron or non-alloy steel sections" with a drop of 35.5% and "Refined petroleum oils" with a 73.9% decrease in exports compared to June 2022.

In the case of imports by tariff group, the most significant growth occurred in the groups "Spark-ignition reciprocating piston and rotary engines", with imports worth 238.4% more than last year (36.2 million in June 2023), "Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated", with imports up 132.5% (52.6 million) and "Centrifuges and filtering apparatus for liquids or gases and parts thereof", an increase of 143.5% (19.7 million). The second most significant group, "Vehicle parts and accessories", also registered a 38.1% increase in imports, amounting to 103.6 million euros.

By contrast, the largest group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals” (16.6% of the total), fell 47.5% with imports down 355.2 million compared to the same month of 2022, for a purchase total of 392 million. This negative trend was shared by "Refined petroleum oils" which, while less significant than the last-named group (89.6 million in imports), was the third largest in economic terms and fell 12.7% over the last year. Other groups with reduced imports were "Soya beans, whether or not broken" (-31.6% and 32.7 million euros in imports), "Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel" (-18.4% and 38.2 million) and "Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated”. (-15.9% and 46.5 million).

ÁLAVA. Exports during June 2023

In Álava, exports fell by 5.7% in June 2023 compared to June 2022. Six of the province’s top ten export groups registered positive variations in June, ranging from the maximum of 32.6% achieved by "Ice cream and other edible ice, whether or not containing cocoa" (9.7 million euros in exports) and 11.3 % obtained by its main export tariff heading, "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (269.6 million in exports). Also noteworthy was the 18.1% increase corresponding to "Goods transport vehicles" (201.7 million).

Four groups posted decreases of varying degrees, most notably "Other tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel" (-31.6%).

BIZKAIA. Exports during June 2023

Exports from the province of Bizkaia were down 23.9%. “Refined petroleum oils”, second in the list of exports from Bizkaia, fell by 75.4% with exports for this group amounting to 65.6 million, compared to over 266 million in the same month of the previous year. Another noteworthy drop corresponded to "Aluminium sheets and strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm" (-44.1% and 21.2 million), which, together with "Stainless steel bars and sections” (-30.5%, 26.6 million), registered the largest decreases in the most significant groups for Bizkaia. However, there was a rise in exports of "Vehicle parts and accessories" (15.1% and 83.2 million), "Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats" (37.4 million in exports) and "Goods not specifically covered by the customs tariff” (39.2 million euros).

GIPUZKOA. Exports during June 2023

Exports from Gipuzkoa fell by 5.7% in June 2023 compared to the same month of 2022. Significant growth over 100% was recorded in the group "Railway or tramway vehicle parts" (112.5% and 27.9 million in exports) and "Parts and accessories for machine tools" (169.6% and 24.9 million in exports). Another significant increase, in terms of its contribution to the total exported, was seen in “Vehicle parts and accessories” (44.6% and 89.5 million in exports).

Among the province’s main groups, it is worth highlighting the decreases recorded by "Iron or non-alloy steel sections" (-37.2% and 74.3 million), "Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes" (-22% and 32.2 million), and "Insulated electrical conduction wires and cables and optical fibre cables" (-26.7%, 23.3 million).

CUMULATIVE TOTAL (JANUARY-JUNE) 2023: the foreign trade balance generated a surplus of 2,885.4 million euros and the coverage rate stood at 120.3%

For the first six months of 2023 as a whole, exports of goods from the Basque Country rose by 3.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, representing an increase of 559.7 million euros. Total exports for this period amounted to 17,091.2 million euros with Bizkaia making the largest contribution to this figure, 6,352.4 million, followed by Álava (5,518.6 million) and Gipuzkoa (5,220.1 million).

Exports from Álava registered a year-on-year increase of 712 million in the first half of 2023 and a relative rise of 14.8%. Gipuzkoa recorded a more moderate increase, 5.3% (up 264.2 million). By contrast, in Bizkaia there was a negative trend with exports down 416.5 million euros, representing a drop of 6.2% in relative terms.

In terms of the type of product exported, "Non-energy products" presented a positive trend with an increase of 1,057.7 million, but this was not the case for "Energy products", which fell 38.7% relative to June 2022 (down 497.9 million).

The ten most exported products (export duty groups) accounted for 40.8% of exports, reaching a total of 6,975.3 million. Six of them presented positive growth rates compared to the same period in 2022. “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” maintained the highest export growth in the Basque Country, with 1,630.2 million in exports, up 27.2%. The second largest export tariff heading, "Goods transport vehicles" (1,169.7 million), achieved similar growth for the same period, 22.3%. “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel” and “New rubber tyres”, up 28.2% and 17.9%, respectively (432.1 million and 764 million exported), completed the list of the most significant groups with the best-performance in the first half of this year.

Other major increases were those registered by "Railway or tramway vehicle parts", "Unfilleted frozen fish", and "Turbo-reactors, turbo-propellers and other gas turbines, and their parts and components" with positive variations of 51.4%, 69.6%, and 33.3%, respectively.

The ranking of countries to which Basque Country exports were sent during the period considered was topped by Germany as the prime receiver country, with 16.3% of the total. Germany was followed by France (15.1%), the United States (7.8%), the United Kingdom (6.5%) and Italy (5.6%). Between them, these five countries accounted for 51.4% of exports.

Accumulated imports of goods for the Basque Country as a whole amounted to 14,205.8 million euros during the first six months of 2023. In year-on-year terms, this figure is 61.8 million euros higher than that registered for the same period in 2022. Bizkaia, with imports worth 8,198.5 million, recorded a decrease of 1.9%, that is, 160 million less than the same period of the previous year. Gipuzkoa registered a drop of 4.7%, down 137.6 million euros, with imports amounting to 2,768.9 million. Lastly, Álava was the only province with a rise in imports up to June 2023, 7.9% and 235.8 million higher than the same period of the previous year; the value of imports up to June this year was 3,238.4 million.

Imports of “Energy products” fell 7.8% compared to the same period of the previous year and were up 2.2% for “Non-energy products”.

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country had a positive balance of 2,885.4 million euros in the first six months of 2023 and maintained a positive coverage rate of 120.3%.

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