Trade balance posts €144m surplus in April

The balance of trade showed a surplus of EUR 144 million in April this year, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by the Finnish Customs.

In April 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 321 million, said a Customs press release on Tuesday.

In January-April 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 1.2 billion, while there was a deficit of EUR 51 million in January-April 2019.

The year-on-year value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 19.9 per cent in April.

The value of Finnish exports was EUR 4.4 billion. Export volumes decreased by 15.4 per cent and export prices by 4.4 per cent year on year.

The year-on-year value of imports declined by 26.8 per cent in April to about EUR 4.3 billion. Import prices decreased by 3.8 per cent and import volumes by 23.1 per cent compared to that in April 2019.

In January-April, the aggregated value of exports decreased by 14.5 per cent and the value of imports by 9.1 per cent compared with that in the corresponding period of last year.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 25.0 per cent in April. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 9.9 per cent. Exports of metals and metal products decreased by 28.9 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products increased by 0.7 per cent.

The value of exports of petroleum products declined by 57.8 per cent. Exports of food increased by 13.3 per cent and of instruments and apparatus by 6.5 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 7.5 per cent and of capital goods by 14.3 per cent in April. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 67.9 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 67.5 per cent. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 13.2 per cent and of food and beverages by 5.1 per cent in April.

Exports to EU countries fell by 21.4 per cent and exports to non-EU countries by 18.0 per cent in April. Imports from EU countries decreased by 26.7 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 26.8 per cent in April. Exports to all major trading partners decreased. Exports to Germany decreased by 37.6 per cent, to the UK by 39.6 per cent and to the USA by 28.6 per cent. Imports from Germany fell by 30.4 per cent, from Russia by 54.8 per cent and from the USA by 30.7 per cent. In January-April, exports to EU countries declined by 14.8 per cent and to non-EU countries by 14.1 per cent. During the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 7.7 per cent and from outside the EU by 11.1 per cent.