Archive:Enlargement countries - international trade in goods statistics

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

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of international trade statistics for the enlargement countries (except Iceland), in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, Iceland ^[1], the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo ^[2] are potential candidates.

The article gives an overview of international trade developments for goods in these seven countries, covering imports and exports, as well as 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).

Main statistical findings

Table 1: International trade in goods, 2003, 2008 and 2013
(million EUR) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intertrd) and (cpc_etmain)

Table 2: International trade in goods, relative to GDP, 2003–13
(% of GDP) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intertrd), (nama_gdp_c), (cpc_etmain) and (cpc_ecagdp)

Table 3: Exports by broad group of goods, 2013
(% of total exports) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intertrd) and (cpc_etsitc)

Table 4: Imports by broad group of goods, 2013
(% of total imports) - Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intertrd) and (cpc_etsitc)

Figure 1: International trade in goods with the EU-28, 2013 (¹)
(% share of total exports and imports) - Source: Eurostat (cpc_etflow)

Table 5: Trade in goods with the EU-28, 2003, 2008 and 2013
(million EUR) - Source: Eurostat (cpc_etflow)

Figure 2: Cover ratio for trade in goods with the EU-28, 2008 and 2013
(%) - Source: Eurostat (cpc_etflow)

Value of exports and imports

Despite the global financial and economic crisis that affected most countries from the second half of 2008 onwards, the total value of the goods exported in 2013 from the EU-28 to the rest of the world was slightly more than double its level from 2003 (see Table 1).

There was an even faster development to international trade flows for most of the enlargement countries over the same period (2003–13), as some countries made reforms to develop market-based economic systems, while others gradually saw trading patterns re-established following the end of the Balkans conflicts. The value of exports from Albania and Kosovo increased between four and five times (note the data for Kosovo cover the period 2004–13), while exports from Bosnia and Herzegovina rose 3.5-fold and those from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey rose 2.5-fold. Shorter time series are available for Montenegro or for Serbia: The value of exports rose in Serbia (up almost 50 % during the period 2008–13). By contrast, the value of exports from Montenegro fell by 11 % between 2008 and 2013.

More than four fifths of all goods exported from the enlargement countries were from Turkey

In 2013, exports of goods from Turkey were valued at EUR 114.3 billion. As such, Turkey accounted for more than four fifths (84.5 %) of the total value of exports from the seven enlargement countries in 2013. Serbia had the second highest level of exports among the enlargement countries (8.1 % of the total), while the third highest share was recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.2 %).

The total value of EU-28 imports of goods rose at a somewhat slower pace when compared with the pace of growth for exports. There was an overall increase of almost 80 % in the value of EU-28 imports between 2003 and 2013 in current price terms. Most of the enlargement countries recorded a faster expansion of imports, with imports rising at their most rapid pace in Turkey (up almost 210 %), while they more than doubled in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (2004–13) and Albania. By contrast, there was almost no change in the level of goods imported into Serbia between 2008 and 2013, while the value of imports in Montenegro fell by 30.3 % over the same period.

None of the enlargement countries recorded a trade surplus for goods

In 2013, none of the enlargement countries registered a trade surplus for goods. Together these seven countries recorded a trade deficit of EUR 90 billion, compared with a deficit of almost EUR 70 billion some five years before (in 2008); these recent developments were largely influenced by the trade performance of Turkey, as the size of the trade deficit widened in just three of the seven enlargement countries between 2008 and 2013. The biggest increase in the trade deficit, in both absolute and relative terms, was recorded in Turkey, where it grew by 58 % over the period under consideration. By contrast, the trade deficits of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania narrowed.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was particularly open to international trade

One indicator that may be used to analyse the relative importance of international trade in goods is the value of exports and / or imports expressed relative to the gross domestic product (GDP) — see Table 2. EU-28 exports of goods to non-member countries in 2013 corresponded to 13.3 % of GDP, while imports accounted for 12.9 % of GDP. Using this measure, the enlargement countries were seen to be more open to trade (note that the EU-28 data does not reflect intra-EU movements of goods between the EU Member States). This was particularly the case in relation to the relative weight of imports entering some of the smaller economies. Indeed, the value of imports into the enlargement countries in 2013 ranged from 30.6 % of GDP in Turkey up to 64.7 % of GDP in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The value of exports from enlargement countries relative to their GDP was generally somewhat lower than the corresponding ratios for imports. Indeed, the export to GDP ratio for Montenegro (11.6 % in 2013) was slightly less than the average recorded for the EU-28 (13.3 %), while an even lower ratio was recorded in Kosovo (5.1 %). By contrast, exports from Serbia and from Bosnia and Herzegovina represented around one third of GDP in 2013, a ratio that rose to a high of 41.8 % in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Structure of trade analysed by broad groups of goods

Machinery and vehicles accounted for the highest proportion of goods exported from the EU-28 in 2013, with a 40.8 % share of the total. This was considerably higher than the shares recorded for other manufactured products (22.1 %) and chemicals (15.7 %), while each of the remaining product categories shown in Table 3 accounted for less than 10 % of total EU-28 exports.

Other manufactured goods were the largest category of goods exported by the enlargement countries

Other manufactured goods (which covers SITC Sections 6 and 8) accounted for the highest share of total exports in each of the enlargement countries in 2013 (note there is no data available by SITC for Kosovo). These goods accounted for almost half of all goods exported from Albania a share that fell to just below one third of the total in Montenegro.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was the only enlargement country to report that chemicals accounted for a share of its total exports in excess of 10 % in 2013, their share rising to 19.6 % (above the corresponding share recorded in the EU-28). Albania and Montenegro both recorded a relatively high share — around 30 % — of their total exports in 2013 for mineral fuels, lubricants and related goods. Albania was the only enlargement country to report that its share of total exports from food, drinks and tobacco (4.5 %) was lower than the average recorded for the EU-28 (6.0 %); note the latter figure excludes intra-EU trade, which may be relatively important, especially for perishables.

Mineral fuels accounted for a high share of EU imports, while there was a higher propensity to import other manufactured goods in the enlargement countries

Mineral fuels accounted for the highest share (29.6 %) of goods imported into the EU-28 in 2013; the next most common product groups were machinery and vehicles (25.8 %) and other manufactured products (22.7 %). As for exports, the category of other manufactured goods generally accounted for the highest share of total imports among the enlargement countries (see Table 4), these products generally accounting for one quarter to one third of total imports in 2013. There were two exceptions, Serbia and Turkey, where the relative share of other manufactured goods was somewhat lower, between one quarter and one fifth of total imports. In both of these countries the largest category of imports was machinery and vehicles, which accounted for just over one quarter of total imports in 2013.

Trade between the EU-28 and the enlargement countries

Due to its close geographic proximity, it is perhaps not surprising to find that the EU-28 is one of the main trading partners of the enlargement countries. Figure 1 shows the relative importance of the EU-28 as a trading partner to the enlargement countries in 2013, with approximately three quarters of all exports leaving Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia destined for the EU-28. Almost two thirds of all exports from Serbia were destined for the EU-28, while the three remaining enlargement countries recorded shares of just over 40 %.

In 2013, more than 60 % of all imports made by Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina originated from the EU-28. These four countries had the highest propensity for importing goods from the EU-28, while between 35 % and 45 % of all imports into Turkey, Montenegro and Kosovo originated in the EU-28.

Table 5 provides more detailed information on the development of international trade flows of goods between the EU-28 and the enlargement countries over the period 2003–13. It confirms that Turkey had, by far, the largest trade deficit for goods with the EU-28, at EUR 21.4 billion in 2013; Turkey’s deficit for the latest period available was three times as high as it had been in 2008. By contrast, the deficits in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Montenegro were lower in 2013 than they had been in 2008.

An alternative measure for analysing the development of trading patterns between the EU-28 and the enlargement countries is shown in Figure 2. The cover ratio is calculated by dividing the value of exports from the enlargement countries and destined for the EU-28 by the value of imports in the enlargement countries that originated from the EU-28; a ratio of 100 % is recorded when exports and imports have an identical value. In 2013, the cover ratio for trade in goods between the enlargement countries and the EU-28 was consistently below 100 %, underlining that the EU-28 ran a trade surplus with each of these partners.

The cover ratio for trade in goods between Turkey and the EU-28 decreased from 86.4 % in 2008 to 69.3 % in 2013, reflecting the widening of the Turkish trade deficit. The cover ratios of Montenegro and Kosovo were also reduced during this period, although by a relatively small margin (2 or 3 percentage points). Nevertheless, these two countries recorded the lowest cover ratios among the enlargement countries for trade in goods with the EU-28 in 2013, at 19.6 % and 10.9 % respectively; in other words, the value of goods imported into Kosovo and originating in the EU-28 was approximately 10 times as high as the value of exports leaving Kosovo and destined for the EU-28.

By contrast, cover ratios for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia rose by more than 20 percentage points over the period 2008–13. The highest cover ratio was recorded in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, at 75 % in 2013, while ratios within the range of 68 %–72 % were recorded in Serbia, Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Data sources and availability

International trade statistics track the value and quantity of goods traded between countries for imports, exports and the trade balance. All statistics presented in this article as monetary values are based on current price series (unless otherwise stated). 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 presented in this article for the EU-28 come from the Comext database (Eurostat’s international trade database).

Data for the enlargement countries are collected for a wide range of indicators each year through a questionnaire that is sent by Eurostat to partner countries which have either the status of being candidate countries or potential candidates. Although this includes some international trade indicators, more detailed international trade statistics are available from Eurostat’s Comext database or the United Nations’ Comtrade database.

The statistics shown in this article are made available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a wide range of other socio-economic indicators collected as part of this initiative.

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 economic impact of globalisation has had a considerable effect on international trade, as well as financial flows. 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.

Eurostat collects statistical information on international trade developments with respect to the enlargement countries; these data are used by the European Commission to prepare annual strategy documents detailing policy developments for EU enlargement countries as well as progress reports on political and economic developments in enlargement countries.

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the enlargement countries are expected to increase progressively the volume and quality of their data and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU accession process. The EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that statistical production of the enlargement countries complies with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, and participation in meetings within the European statistical system (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards.

Additional information on statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided here.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Enlargement countries, see:

Candidate countries and potential candidates (cpc)

International trade (cpc_et)

International trade, see:

International trade data (ext)

International trade long-term indicators (ext_lti)

International trade short-term indicators (ext_sti)

International trade detailed data (detail)

Traditional international trade database access (ComExt) (comext)

External links

Notes

↑ Accession negotiations started in July 2010 and were put on hold by the Icelandic government in May 2013. Iceland is therefore not included in this article.
↑ This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

[1] Accession negotiations started in July 2010 and were put on hold by the Icelandic government in May 2013. Iceland is therefore not included in this article.

[2] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

[1]

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