Trade balance in July posts €465m deficit

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 465 million in July, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs.

In July 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 498 million, said a Customs press release on Wednesday.

In January-July 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 2.2 billion, while there was a deficit of EUR 508 million in January-July 2019.

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 13.8 per cent year on year in July. The value of Finnish exports was almost EUR 4.4 billion. Export volumes decreased by 10.3 per cent and export prices by 3.2 per cent year on year.

The value of imports declined by 13.1 per cent in July to EUR 4.8 billion. Import prices decreased by 2.4 per cent and import volumes by 9.6 per cent compared to that in July 2019.

In January-July, the aggregated value of exports decreased by 16.8 per cent and the value of imports by 12.2 per cent compared with that in the corresponding period of last year.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 4.1 per cent in July. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 17.6 per cent. Exports of metals and metal products decreased by 34.1 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products declined by 5.9 per cent. The value of exports of petroleum products declined by 23.7 per cent. Exports of foodstuff increased by 6.0 per cent, but exports of instruments and apparatus declined by 24.4 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 12.8 per cent and imports of capital goods by 7.0 per cent in July. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 32.2 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 14.2 per cent. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 9.0 per cent and of food and beverages by 1.5 per cent in July.

Exports to EU countries fell by 9.9 per cent and exports to non-EU countries by 17.9 per cent in July. Imports from EU countries declined by 11.4 per cent and from non-EU countries by 15.3 per cent in the month. Exports to almost all major trading partners decreased in July. Exports to Germany decreased by 15.0 per cent, Sweden by 7.5 per cent, the United States by 38.2 per cent, while exports to the Netherlands increased by 3.3 per cent.

During the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 10.7 per cent and from non-EU countries by 14.3 per cent.

But, imports from China increased by 1.9 per cent and the United Kingdom by 31.1 per cent, while imports from other major import countries decreased in July. Imports from Germany decreased by 17.0 per cent and Sweden by 13.2 per cent. In January-July, exports to EU countries declined by 16.5 per cent and to non-EU countries by 17.1 per cent.