Statistics Explained

Archive:European Neighbourhood Policy - East - statistics on trade in goods with the EU

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Data from September 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: October 2015.

This article is part of an online publication and presents information relating to recent developments for international trade in goods for the European Union (EU) and in the six countries that together form the European Neighbourhood Policy-East (ENP-E) region, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The article highlights some of the key indicators for tracing developments in international trade, with information on exports, imports and the trade balance. The article also presents an analysis of international trade by selected product groups (based on the SITC) and by selected partners (including an analysis of their trade positions with the EU-28).

Table 1: International trade in goods, 2003, 2008 and 2013
(million EUR) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd) and (enpr_etmain)
Table 2: International trade in goods, relative to GDP, 2003–13
(% of GDP) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd), (nama_gdp_c), (enpr_etmain) and (enpr_ecnagdp)
Table 3: Exports by broad group of goods, 2013
(% of total exports) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd) and (enpr_etsitc)
Table 4: Imports by broad group of goods, 2013
(% of total imports) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd) and (enpr_etsitc)
Figure 1: International trade in goods with the EU-28, 2013 (1)
(% share of total exports and imports) - Source: Eurostat (enpr_etflow)
Table 5: Trade in goods with the EU-28, 2003, 2008 and 2013 (1)
(million EUR) - Source: Eurostat (enpr_etflow)
Figure 2: Cover ratio for trade in goods with the EU-28, 2008 and 2013 (1)
(%) - Source: Eurostat (enpr_etflow)

Main statistical findings

Exports, imports and trade balance

Azerbaijan: the only ENP-East country with a positive trade balance

In 2013, the EU-28 ran a surplus for goods traded with non-member countries, valued at EUR 54.6 billion: this was the first surplus recorded by the EU-28 since the series began (2002). Among the ENP-East countries, Azerbaijan recorded a trade surplus for goods of EUR 9.9 billion in 2013. Each of the five remaining ENP-East countries recorded trade deficits for goods, with these generally being valued between EUR 2.1 billion and EUR 4.4 billion, although in Ukraine the trade deficit for goods reached EUR 10.3 billion.

When comparing developments for exports and imports of goods over the period 2003–13, there was a marked expansion in the level of international trade in the EU-28 and all of the ENP-East countries (see Table 1), although it should be remembered that the values are presented in current price terms and so are affected by changes in price levels (inflation).

The most marked increase (in percentage terms) was registered in Azerbaijan where the value of exports increased nearly seven-fold during the period under consideration. A closer analysis of the data shows that exports from Azerbaijan increased from EUR 2.3 billion in 2003 to EUR 5.1 billion in 2007, before jumping to EUR 32.5 billion in 2008. Although exports of goods fell back again in 2009 (to EUR 10.5 billion), they remained well above their level in earlier years and then stabilised between EUR 16 billion and EUR 19 billion during the period 2010–13. The large increase in 2008 may be linked to the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that connects the Caspian Sea with the Mediterranean Sea combined with changes in crude oil prices.

Belarus reported that the value of its exports of goods rose at a similar pace to the value of its imports between 2003 and 2013. In the four remaining ENP-East countries, the value of imports of goods grew more rapidly than the value of exports, leading to an increase in the size of their trade deficits or, as in the case of Ukraine, moving from a small trade surplus in 2003 to a trade deficit in 2013.

The value of exports and imports was lower in 2013 than it had been 10 years earlier in most ENP-East countries relative to GDP

While the absolute values of exports and imports reflect, to some degree, the size of each country (larger countries tend to export and import more goods than smaller countries), the relative importance of international trade can be seen from the relationship between exports / imports and gross domestic product (GDP) — see Table 2. Smaller economies often rely more on exports and imports, in part reflecting the need for smaller countries to trade in a variety of goods that they do not make themselves on their national territory. As such, it is unsurprising to find that the relative shares of exports and imports expressed as a percentage of GDP were lower for the EU-28 as a whole than among the ENP-East countries. Note that the indicator for the EU-28 is based exclusively upon extra-EU trade flows with non-member countries and does not take account of the relatively large trade flows that exist between individual EU Member States.

In 2013, the highest ratio of exports of goods relative to GDP among the ENP-East countries was recorded in Belarus (51.8 %), while the highest ratio for imports of goods relative to GDP was registered in Moldova (69.0 %). For comparison, the same ratios for the EU-28 were much lower (13.3 % for exports and 12.9 % for imports). Like the EU-28, Georgia and Armenia reported relatively low ratios of exports of goods to GDP, in both cases below 20 %. Azerbaijan reported a ratio of imports of goods to GDP that was just 14.6 %, only slightly above the EU-28 ratio, and well below the ratios recorded for the other ENP-East countries which were all above the 34.8 % share of GDP in Ukraine.

The relative importance of exports and imports of goods in relation to GDP increased in the EU-28 as well as in Georgia during the period 2003 to 2013. By contrast, in the five remaining ENP-East countries the ratio of exports and imports of goods relative to GDP was lower in 2013 than it had been in 2003, most notably for imports in Azerbaijan.

Trade in goods analysed by broad group of product

Food, drinks and tobacco, raw materials and mineral fuels and related goods made up a greater share of exports from ENP-East countries than they did from the EU

A country’s endowment with natural resources often impacts on specialisations within certain agricultural, mining, industrial or service sectors. By contrast, countries may lack specific resources and as a result they seek to import these goods (or services). As a result, there are considerable differences in the types of goods that individual countries export and import.

Table 3 shows an analysis of exports by broad group of goods for 2013. The most important export product group (for goods) for the EU-28 was that of machinery and vehicles, which accounted for 40.8 % of the EU-28’s exports, a considerably higher share than for other manufactured goods (22.1 %) or chemicals (15.7 %); none of the remaining product groups shown accounted for more than a tenth of the EU-28’s exports in 2013.

By contrast, Azerbaijan was highly specialised in exporting mineral fuels and related goods (93.0 % of its total exports of goods in 2013), while this same product group accounted for just under one third (32.4 %) of the goods exported from Belarus. Moldova reported that more than one tenth of its exports of goods were raw materials, a share that was closer to one fifth of total exports of goods in Ukraine and Armenia. Food, drinks and tobacco were also a large export product group for most ENP-East countries, particularly Moldova, Armenia and Georgia where these products accounted for more than one quarter of all exported goods.

Mineral fuels and related goods made up a greater share of imports into the EU than into the ENP-East countries

A similar analysis, but for imports by broad product group, is shown in Table 4. It reveals that almost one third (29.6 %) of the EU-28’s imports of goods in 2013 were mineral fuels and related goods, while machinery and vehicles accounted for more than one quarter (25.8 %) of the EU-28’s imports from non-member countries and other manufactured goods accounted for more than one fifth (22.7 %).

Among the ENP-East countries, Belarus and Ukraine also recorded a relatively high share of their total imports of goods being made up of mineral fuels and related goods, at least one quarter. In keeping with the analysis for the EU-28, the other main product categories imported by these two countries were machinery and vehicles and other manufactured products, while imports of food, drinks and tobacco were relatively low. By contrast, food, drinks and tobacco accounted for a relatively high share of goods imported into the remaining ENP-East countries, as these products represented between one tenth and one fifth of total imports in 2013. Due to its very low imports of mineral fuels and related goods, the structure of Azerbaijan’s imports was somewhat different from that of the other ENP-East countries. In particular, other manufactured goods accounted for nearly two fifths of all goods imported into Azerbaijan in 2013.

Trade between the EU-28 and ENP-East countries

The EU is one of the main trading partners of the ENP-East countries

The EU-28 is a key partner for most of the ENP-East countries in terms of international trade relations for goods (see Figure 1). Indeed, the EU-28 was the destination for close to half (45.0 %) of Moldova’s imports of goods, for more than one third of all goods imported into Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and around a quarter or more of the goods imported into the other ENP-East countries.

Looking at exports of goods leaving the ENP-East countries and destined for the EU-28, close to half of all exports from Azerbaijan and Moldova in 2013 went to the EU-28. For Armenia this share was around one third, for Belarus and Ukraine just over one quarter and for Georgia just over one fifth.

In value terms, Ukraine was the leading importer of goods from the EU-28 in 2013 and the leading exporter (see Table 5). In fact, Ukraine’s imports from the EU-28 were greater than the combined imports of the other five ENP-East countries. Azerbaijan and Belarus were the second and third largest exporters of goods to the EU-28 among the ENP-East countries. Azerbaijan was the only ENP-East country to record a trade surplus for goods with the EU-28 in 2013 (EUR 5.8 billion). By contrast, among the remaining ENP-East countries, Ukraine had the largest trade deficit for goods with the EU-28 in 2013, valued at EUR 7.7 billion.

A supplementary indicator for analysing international trade data is the cover ratio, calculated as the ratio of exports to imports (expressed as a percentage): a ratio below 100 % indicates more imports than exports or a trade deficit. Azerbaijan had the highest cover ratio in relation to its goods trading performance with the EU-28 in 2013, as its value of goods exported to the EU-28 was more than three times as high as the value of goods imported from the EU-28; this marked a considerable decrease in the cover ratio for Azerbaijan when compared with the same ratio in 2008 when exports had been valued more than 13 times as high as imports. In Belarus, the cover ratio with respect to trade in goods with the EU-28 also fell at a rapid pace, from 166 % in 2008 to 99 % in 2013, indicating that in 2013 exports and imports were almost balanced (see Figure 2).

Data sources and availability

Trade statistics track the value and quantity of goods traded between countries. They are the official source of information on imports, exports and the trade balance. Traditionally, customs records are the main source of statistical data on international trade. Following the adoption of the Single Market on 1 January 1993, customs formalities between EU Member States were removed, and so a new data collection system, Intrastat, was set up for intra-EU trade. In the Intrastat system, intra-EU trade data are collected directly from trade operators, which send a monthly declaration to the relevant national statistical administration.

The data for the EU-28 presented in this article come from Eurostat‘s Comext database. The data for the ENP-East countries have been compiled from the Comtrade database of the United Nations.

Context

The EU has a common international trade policy, often referred to as the common commercial policy. In other words, the EU acts as a single entity on trade issues, including issues related to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In these cases, the European Commission negotiates trade agreements and represents Europe’s interests on behalf of the EU Member States.

The EU seeks to promote the development of free-trade as an instrument for stimulating economic growth and enhancing competitiveness. International trade statistics are of prime importance for both public sector (decision makers at international, EU and national level) and private users (in particular, businesses who wish to analyse export market opportunities) as they provide valuable information on developments regarding the exchange of goods between specific geographical areas. These statistics enable the EU to monitor the growth of trade ties with its ENP partners, while they are also used by the European Commission to prepare multilateral and bilateral negotiations for common trade policies.

In cooperation with its ENP partners, Eurostat has the responsibility ‘to promote and implement the use of European and internationally recognised standards and methodology for the production of statistics, necessary for developing and monitoring policy achievements in all policy areas’. Eurostat undertakes the task of coordinating EU efforts to increase the statistical capacity of the ENP countries. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

International Trade (enpr_et)
ENP countries: international trade - main indicators (enpr_etmain)
ENP countries: Trading partners - flows (enpr_etflow)
ENP countries: Trade by commodity (SITC) (enpr_etsitc)
trade International trade long-term indicators (ext_lti)
International trade (ext_lti_int)
International trade of EU, the euro area and the Member States by SITC product group (ext_lt_intertrd)
EU trade by Member State, by partner and by product group (ext_lti_ext)
Intra and Extra-EU trade by Member State and by product group (ext_lt_intratrd)
GDP and main components (nama_gdp)
GDP and main components - Current prices (nama_gdp_c)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links


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