Trade balance shows €726m deficit in 2019

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 726 million in January-December last year, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs.

The trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 317 million in December 2019, said a recent Customs press release.

In December 2018, the trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 428 million while in January-December a deficit of approximately EUR 2.9 billion.

The value of Finnish exports of goods increased by 13.4 per cent year-on-year in December.

The value of Finnish exports was EUR 5.6 billion. Export volumes increased by 14.7 per cent but export prices decreased by 0.4 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports declined by 1.5 per cent in December to about EUR 5.3 billion. Import prices increased by 1.9 per cent, but import volumes decreased by 2.7 per cent compared to December 2018.

In January-December, the value of exports increased by 2.0 per cent, while the value of imports decreased by 1.4 per cent compared to 2018.

The export value of several main commodity groups declined in December. The value of total exports increased due to a vessel export to Italy. The value of total exports was also boosted by the increase in the value of exports of refined oil.

The value of exports of other chemical products, forest industry products, passenger cars, industrial machinery and equipment and metals decreased. The value of exports of electrical machinery and equipment increased slightly.

The value of nickel exports also increased in December. The decline in the value of total imports in December is partly explained by an aircraft import in December 2018. Imports of consumer goods and industrial supplies increased in December.

Exports to EU countries grew by 25 per cent, but exports outside the EU fell by two per cent in December. Exports to Sweden, Italy and Russia increased in December, but exports to other major export countries declined.

Imports from EU countries fell by three per cent, while imports from outside the EU rose by one per cent in December. Imports from Russia, China and Germany increased, while imports from Sweden and the Netherlands declined in December.

In January-December, exports both to EU countries and to non-EU countries increased by two per cent. During the same period, imports from EU countries were at the previous year's level, but imports from non-EU countries fell by three per cent.