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

Data extracted in December 2017. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: February 2019.

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-East) region, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Note that data shown in this article for Georgia exclude the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia over which the government of Georgia does not exercise effective control, and data for Moldova exclude areas over which the government of the Republic of Moldova does not exercise effective control. The latest data for Ukraine generally exclude the territories which are not under effective control of Ukrainian government and the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.

The article highlights some of the key indicators for tracing developments in international trade, with information on exports, imports and the trade balance. It also presents an analysis of international trade by selected product groups (based on the standard international trade classification (SITC)) and by selected partners (including an analysis of their trade positions with the EU-28).

Table 1: International trade in goods, 2006, 2011 and 2016
(million EUR)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)

Table 2: International trade in goods, relative to GDP, 2006-2016
(% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (nama_10_gdp)

Table 3: Exports by broad group of goods, 2016
(% of total exports)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)

Table 4: Imports by broad group of goods, 2016
(% of total imports)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)

Figure 1: International trade in goods with the EU-28, 2016
(% share of total exports and imports)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)Source: Eurostat and United Nations (Comtrade)

Table 5: Trade in goods with the EU-28, 2006, 2011 and 2016
(million EUR)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)Source: Eurostat and United Nations (Comtrade)

Figure 2: Cover ratio for trade in goods with the EU-28, 2011 and 2016
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd)Source: Eurostat and United Nations (Comtrade)

Main statistical findings

Exports, imports and trade balance

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

In 2016, the EU-28 ran a surplus for goods traded with non-member countries, valued at EUR 31.4 billion. Among the ENP-East countries, Azerbaijan recorded a trade surplus for goods of EUR 0.6 billion. Each of the five remaining ENP-East countries recorded trade deficits for goods, with these being valued between EUR 1.3 billion (Armenia) and EUR 4.7 billion (Georgia) in 2016.

When comparing developments for exports and imports of goods over the period 2006-2016, there was an 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 Georgia where the value of exports (with an increase of 156 %) and imports (up 125 %) more than doubled between 2006 and 2016. Moldova (up 121 %) and Armenia (up 108 %) also reported that exports more than doubled while their imports increased by 70 % and 73 % respectively. Elsewhere among the ENP-East countries the growth in international trade in goods was more subdued, particularly in Ukraine where exports were 8 % higher in 2016 than in 2006 and imports were 1 % lower.

Looking at the data for 2006, 2011 and 2016, it can be seen that some ENP-East countries, most notably Azerbaijan, saw a rapid increase in trade, particularly for exports, between 2006 and 2011 and a subsequent fall between 2011 and 2016, with these movements reflecting in large part price changes for fossil fuels combined with changes in the volume of trade.

The impact of these changes in the levels of exports and imports on the trade balance for goods between 2006 and 2016 was that deficits widened somewhat in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova while the trade deficit in Ukraine narrowed and the surplus in Azerbaijan narrowed (having initially increased greatly).

Relative to GDP, the value of exports and imports was lower in 2016 than it had been 10 years earlier in Belarus and Georgia

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 in absolute terms), the relative importance of international trade within an economy can be seen from the relationship between exports/imports and gross domestic product (GDP) — see Table 2. Note that the export and import values used in this calculation are based on national accounts data, which may differ for methodological reasons from statistics for the international trade of goods on the same subject. Smaller economies often rely more (in relative terms) on exports and imports, in part reflecting their need to trade in a variety of goods that they do not produce on their national territory. Note that the indicator for the EU-28 is based upon extra-EU and intra-EU trade flows.

National accounts trade data for 2016 are available for three ENP-East countries: Armenia, Belarus and Georgia. The highest ratio of exports of goods relative to GDP among these countries was recorded in Belarus (48.3 %) as was the highest ratio for imports of goods relative to GDP (53.9 %). By contrast, the lowest ratios were in Armenia, 17.9 % for exports and 26.8 % for imports. For Georgia, the ratio for exports was 20.2 %, in other words only slightly higher than the ratio in Armenia, while for imports the ratio was 56.7 %, much closer to that observed for Belarus. For comparison, the same ratios for the EU-28 were 31.5 % for exports and 29.5 % for imports.

The relative importance of exports and imports of goods in relation to GDP was lower in 2016 than in 2006 in Belarus and Georgia (the only ENP-East countries for which a long time series is available). By contrast, the ratio of exports and imports of goods to GDP increased in the EU-28 over the same period.

Trade in goods analysed by broad group of product

Food, drinks and tobacco, raw materials, and mineral fuels and related goods made up a much 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 2016. The most important export product group (for goods) for the EU-28 was that of machinery and vehicles, which accounted for 42.7 % of the EU-28’s exports, a considerably higher share than for other manufactured goods (22.7 %) or chemicals (18.0 %); none of the remaining product groups shown accounted for more than a tenth of the EU-28’s total exports of goods in 2016.

By contrast, Azerbaijan was highly specialised in exporting mineral fuels and related goods (87.0 % of its total exports of goods) in 2016, while this same product group accounted for one fifth (20.6 %) of the goods exported from Belarus. Georgia and Moldova reported that more than one tenth of their exports of goods in 2016 were raw materials, a share that was closer to one quarter of the total exports of goods leaving Armenia and Ukraine. Food, drinks and tobacco also accounted for a relatively large share of exports for most of the ENP-East countries, the only exception being Azerbaijan. This was particularly the case in Moldova, Georgia and Armenia where these products accounted for close to one third of all exported goods.

Food, drinks and tobacco made up a lower 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 close to one third (32.4 %) of the EU-28’s imports of goods in 2016 were machinery and vehicles and a smaller share (26.3 %) were other manufactured goods, while mineral fuels and related goods accounted for between one sixth and one seventh (15.5 %) of the EU-28’s imports of goods from non-member countries.

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, with shares that were one fifth or higher and above the corresponding share for the EU-28, as was the share (17.7 %) in Armenia, while that in Moldova (15.4 %) was almost the same as in the EU-28.

In keeping with the analysis for the EU-28, the other main product categories imported by most of the ENP-East countries were machinery and vehicles and other manufactured products; the exception was Armenia, where the share of food, drinks and tobacco was greater than that of machinery and vehicles. In fact, food, drinks and tobacco accounted for a higher share of goods imported into each of the ENP-East countries than they did in the EU-28, as these products represented between 13.3 % and 16.4 % of total imports in 2016 except in Ukraine where the share (8.3 %) was below this range and in Armenia (25.0 %) where it was above this range. 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, machinery and vehicles accounted for nearly one third (33.1 %) of all goods imported in 2016.

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 origin of more than half of Ukraine’s imports of goods in 2016, close to half of Moldova’s imports, and for at least one fifth of the imports into the other ENP-East countries.

Looking at exports of goods leaving the ENP-East countries, close to two thirds of all exports from Ukraine (65.8 %) and Moldova (65.2 %) in 2016 were destined for the EU-28, while more than two fifths of all exports from Azerbaijan (43.5 %) went to the EU-28. For the remaining ENP-East countries the share was nearer one third in Georgia and one fifth in Armenia and Belarus.

In value terms, Ukraine was the leading importer of goods from the EU-28 in 2016 and the leading exporter of goods to the EU-28 (see Table 5). In fact, Ukraine was the destination for around two thirds of the imports and exports between ENP-East countries and the EU-28 in 2016 and had a trade surplus with the EU-28. Belarus and Azerbaijan were the second and third largest exporters of goods to the EU-28 among the ENP-East countries; both of these countries also recorded trade surpluses for goods with the EU-28. By contrast, the three remaining ENP-East countries, recorded trade deficits for goods with the EU-28.

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 and therefore a trade deficit. Azerbaijan had the highest cover ratio in relation to its goods trading performance with the EU-28 in 2016, as its value of goods exported to the EU-28 was 85 % more than its value of goods imported from the EU-28. However, the cover ratio for Azerbaijan for trade in goods with the EU-28 fell at a rapid pace, from 511 % in 2011 to 185 % in 2016 (see Figure 2). The cover ratio for Belarus also fell strongly over the same period as its trade surplus with the EU-28 narrowed as the value of imports and exports were nearly equal in 2016. By contrast, the cover ratios shown for the remaining four ENP-East countries rose over the period under consideration as their trade deficits with the EU-28 narrowed and in the case of Ukraine turned into a surplus.

Data sources and availability

International 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.

Most of the data for the EU-28 presented in this article come from Eurostat‘s Comext database; the data in Table 2 come from the national accounts databases within Eurobase.

The data for ENP-East countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The data result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of additional indicators for ENP-East countries covering most socio-economic topics.

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available, confidential or unreliable value;
–	not applicable.

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 the interests 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 international 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.

On 18 November 2015, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission jointly presented a review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (SWD(2015) 500 final) which underlined a new approach for the EU in relation to its eastern and southern neighbours, based on stabilising the region in political, economic, and security-related terms.

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.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Eastern European Neighbourhood Policy Country (ENP-East) (enpr), see:

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)

International trade data (ext), see:

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)

Annual national accounts (nama_10), see:

Main GDP aggregates (nama_10_ma)

GDP and main components (output, expenditure and income) (nama_10_gdp)

External links

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

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