Trade balance shows €746m deficit in Feb

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 746 million in February this year, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs.

In February 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 121 million, said a Customs press release.

In January-February 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 1.0 billion, while there was a surplus of EUR 393 million in January-February 2019.

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 14.6 per cent year-on-year in February. The value of exports was EUR 4.4 billion.

Export volumes decreased by 13.3 per cent and export prices by 1.1 per cent year-on-year.

The value of imports declined by 2.4 per cent in February to about EUR 5.1 billion. Import prices increased by 1.4 per cent, but import volumes decreased by 2.7 per cent compared to February 2019.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 3.6 per cent in February. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 47.6 per cent.

Strikes in January and February had an impact on the export performance of the forest industry sector. Exports of metals and metal products diminished by 9.7 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products declined by 0.8 per cent and exports of petroleum and products by 32.1 per cent. Exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap increased by 31.8 per, but exports of instruments and apparats decreased by 18.8 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 3.1 per cent and of capital goods by 0.6 per cent in February. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 15.3 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 1.1 per cent. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 1.3 per cent and of food and beverages by 1.1 per cent in February.

Exports to EU countries fell by 13.6 per cent and exports outside the EU by 15.7 per cent in February. Imports from EU countries decreased by 1.5 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 3.7 per cent in February.

Exports to all major trading partners fell in February. Imports from China increased slightly in February, but imports from other major trading partners declined. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 31.2 per cent and imports from the United Kingdom by 0.1 per cent in February.

In January-February, exports to EU countries decreased by 17.7 and exports to non-EU countries by 13.0. During the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 2.9 per cent and from outside the EU by 2.7 per cent. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 17.3 per cent, but imports from the United Kingdom increased by 1.9 per cent in January-February.