Trade balance posts €336m deficit in March

The balance of trade showed a deficit of EUR 336 million in March, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs.

In March 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 119 million. In January-March 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 1.4 billion, while there was a surplus of EUR 273 million in January-March 2019, said a Customs press release.

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 8.8 per cent year on year in March. The value of Finnish exports was EUR 5.0 billion. Export volumes decreased by 5.0 per cent and export prices by 3.1 per cent year on year.

The value of imports declined by 4.8 per cent in March to about EUR 5.3 billion. Import prices decreased by 2.9 per cent and import volumes decreased by 1.3 per cent compared to the corresponding figures of March 2019.

In January-March, the value of exports decreased by 12.9 per cent and the value of imports by 3.0 per cent compared with that in the corresponding period of last year.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 13.3 per cent in March. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 15.3 per cent. Exports of metals and metal products diminished by 6.5 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products declined by 13.6 per cent and exports of petroleum products by 10.6 per cent. Exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap increased by 8.0 per and of instruments and apparats by 0.5 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 1.4 per cent, but the imports of capital goods increased by 5.4 per cent in March. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 41.6 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 3.8 per cent. Imports of consumer goods increased by 4.1 per cent and of food and beverages by 5.4 per cent in March.

Exports to EU countries fell by 5.8 per cent and exports outside the EU by 12.5 per cent in March. Imports from EU countries decreased by 0.1 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 11.3 per cent in March.

Exports to all major trading partners decreased. Exports to China fell sharply. Imports from Germany, China, the United States and the Netherlands increased in March, but imports from Sweden and Russia decreased.

Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 21.3 per cent, but imports from the United Kingdom increased by 1.9 per cent in March.

In January-March, exports to both EU and non-EU countries fell by 12.9 per cent. In the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 1.2 per cent and from outside the EU by 5.5 per cent. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 19.2 per cent but imports from the UK increased by 1.8 per cent in January-March.