Press Release 20/01/2025

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS (ECOMEX). November 2024

Exports of goods from the Basque Country were down 20.1% in November 2024

In the cumulative period of the first eleven months of 2024, exports fell by 5.1%, but still exceeded 28,700 million euros

In November 2024, exports of goods from the Basque Country recorded a decrease of 20.1% in year-on-year terms, according to Eustat data. They totalled 2,519 million euros compared to 3,152 million in the same month of the previous year. Exports of Energy products fell by 83.8% and those of Non-energy products were down 12.2%.

Bizkaia was the province that registered the greatest drop (-34.0%), due to the decrease in exports of both Non-energy products (-15.5%) and, above all, Energy products, which reached -84.2%. In Gipuzkoa, exports as a whole were down 13.1%, and in Álava they fell by 8.1%.

Imports of goods to the Basque Country saw a 2.7% rise, reaching a total of 2,281 million euros. Energy imports fell by 5.4%, and Non-energy imports rose by 5.8%. By province, imports were up 22.9% in Álava, but down 2.6% in Gipuzkoa and 3.0% in Bizkaia.

The four main export groups, with 731.5 million traded, belonged to the vehicle sector, but they were down 18.1% compared to November 2023

A more detailed analysis reveals that the ranking of 988 export groups was led by “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (328.8 million traded and a drop of 8.6% compared to the same month of the previous year), “Vehicle parts and accessories” (178.1 million in exports and down 16.8% on the same month of the previous year), “Goods transport vehicles” (143.9 million but down 27.8%), “New rubber tyres” (80.7 million and a decrease of 33.0%), and “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” (56.1 million and an increase of 21.4%). These five groups accounted for 31.3% of the total in November, with a combined value of 787.7 million euros, 731.5 million of which corresponded to the vehicle sector, although this was a drop of 18.1% compared to November 2023.

Among the top 25 groups in the ranking, it is worth highlighting the year-on-year increases in “Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc.” (4,912.5%), “Constructions made from iron or steel sheets, bars, sections, tubes and similar” (152.6%) and “Unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining” (135.3%). Also of note, but in the opposite direction, was the decrease in “Refined petroleum oils”, with 39.2 million in exports and a drop of 87.2%.

In November, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Italy were the Basque Country’s biggest customers, absorbing 48.5% of total exports. Four of these five countries belong to the EU27, which accounted for 61.5% of exports.

In Álava, the main customs duty group, “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats”, recorded exports worth 309.6 million euros and saw exports increase by 5.7% compared to the previous year, whereas the group immediately after, “Goods transport vehicles”, registered a decline of 28.0%. There was also a drop in exports of “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel”, which in this case stood at 28.9%, representing a decrease of 14.8 million compared to November 2023.

In Bizkaia, of particular note was the fall in exports of “Refined petroleum oils”, with 266.5 million euros less, a drop of 87.7%. There were also significant decreases in exports of “New rubber tyres” (27.3 million in exports and 43.8 million less than the previous year, a drop of 61.6%) and “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats” (down 71.6% with 46.2 million euros less).

In Gipuzkoa, there were considerable rises in exports of “Taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes” and “Railway or tramway coaches for passengers, luggage, mail, etc.”, with 40.6 and 31.1 million in exports, respectively. In contrast, there was an 18.8% decline in exports of “Vehicle parts and accessories” (16.8 million euros less than in November 2023) and a 20.2% drop in exports of “Iron or non-alloy steel sections” (11.3 million less).

Imports of “Refined petroleum oils” rose by 209.5% in November 2024

An analysis of imports by customs duty group reveals that the most significant group, “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals”, representing 16.5% of the total, registered a decrease of 29.3%. By contrast, there was significant growth in imports of “Goods transport vehicles”, with a value of 66.8 million, 1,558.7% more than in the same period of 2023; “Refined petroleum oils”, which rose by 209.5%, with imports worth 154.2 million; and “Petroleum gas and other hydrocarbon gases”, up 55.1% with 46.6 million in purchases.

This month, imports primarily came from, in order: Germany (380.4 million), France (174.2 million), China (165.4 million), Mexico (116.0 million) and Italy (113.4 million).

In the first eleven months of 2024, foreign trade of goods had a positive balance of 3,609 million euros, nearly 1,600 million less than in the same period of the previous year

For the first eleven months of 2024 as a whole, Basque exports recorded a drop of 5.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, representing a decrease of 1,541 million, which translates into a decline in the trade balance of 1,596 million euros compared to that registered in the same period of the previous year.

Bizkaia exports were the largest in the Basque Country during the period in question, with a cumulative total of 11,094.4 million euros and a decrease of 2.7%. Álava, with 8,413.6 million traded, saw a drop of 12.2%. Gipuzkoa registered the best performance in the year-to-date, with a decrease of 0.8% and 9,215.9 million euros in exports. In terms of the type of product, “Non-energy products”, with 26,830.1 million in sales, suffered a drop of 6.1%. On the other hand, “Energy products” recorded growth of 12.2%, reaching 1,893.9 million.

A more detailed look reveals that the main customs duty group, with 2,505 million in exports, was “Passenger cars with fewer than 10 seats”, despite experiencing a downturn of 16.3%. Next came “Vehicle parts and accessories” with an increase of 2.9%, reaching 2,157 million euros, followed by “Goods transport vehicles”, with 1,369 million and a decrease of 31.6%. Among the top ten customs duty groups, the greatest increase in exports (248.1%) was recorded for “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals”, with 385.8 million in exports, 275 million euros more than in the same period of the previous year.

“Refined petroleum oils” were down 10.1% and “New rubber tyres” 28.5%, which, in absolute terms, was 142.6 and 384.7 million less than in November 2023. Another notable drop was recorded for “Seamless tubes and hollow profiles made of iron or steel”, which fell by 195 million compared to the previous year (29.1%).

The export ranking for the first eleven months of 2024 placed France as the prime receiver country of Basque exports, with 15.9% of the total exported. France was followed by Germany (14.4%) and the United Kingdom (7.1%). Between them, these three countries accounted for 37.4% of Basque exports.

Cumulative imports for the Basque Country as a whole up to November 2024 amounted to 25,114.9 million euros. In the year-on-year comparison, this figure was 55 million euros up on the equivalent for the same period of 2023.

The products that occupied the top three positions in the import ranking were: “Petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals”, with 4,606.8 million (18.3% of the total); “Refined petroleum oils”, with 1,591 million in imports (6.3% of the total); and “Vehicle parts and accessories”, with 895.3 million (3.6% of the total).

Foreign trade of goods in the Basque Country during the first eleven months of 2024 had a positive balance of 3,609 million euros, 1,596 million less than that registered during the same period of the previous year, resulting in a coverage rate of 114.4%. This rate was over 100, i.e., exports exceeded imports, in respect of almost all EU27 countries, the exceptions being Ireland (13.8%), Luxembourg, (88.5%), Finland (89.4%), Latvia (52.4%) and Bulgaria (96.6%).

As for the countries at the top of the export ranking, this rate was 111.7% for Germany, 228.5% for France and 326.7% for the United Kingdom.

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