Archive:European Neighbourhood Policy - South - international trade in goods statistics

Data extracted in February 2022.

Planned article update: April 2023.

Highlights

All of the European Neighbourhood Policy-South countries that have reported data recorded deficits for trade in goods since 2016.

In 2020, the EU was a key partner for trade in goods for most European Neighbourhood Policy-South countries, in particular for Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Morocco increased the ratio of exports of goods to GDP by 5.1 percentage points during the period 2010-2020, by far the largest increase among the European Neighbourhood Policy-South countries.

International trade in goods with the EU, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(% share of total exports/imports)
Source: Eurostat (enps_ext_sitc)

This article is part of an online publication and provides data on international trade in goods for 8 of the 10 countries that form the European Neighbourhood Policy-South (ENP-South) region — Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine ^[1] and Tunisia; no recent data are available for Syria or, for international trade, for Lebanon.

The article highlights some of the key indicators for tracing developments in the international trade in goods of the ENP-South region over the period 2010-2020, with information on exports, imports and the trade balance. It is followed by an examination of trade between ENP-South countries and the EU from the perspective of the ENP-South countries, using data reported by the ENP-South countries themselves. It also presents an analysis of international trade between the regions by broad product groups (based on the standard international trade classification (SITC)).

Full article

Exports, imports and the trade balance

International trade statistics track the value and quantity of goods traded between countries. They are the official source of information on exports, imports and the trade balance, i.e. the difference between imports and exports.

Long term global trends have seen trade increasing as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries. This has been an important element of globalisation, although far from the only one. Countries that are growing fast or are undergoing or recovering from economic difficulties may wish to run trade deficits, in which the value of imports is greater than that of exports. Countries that specialise in providing services to the rest of the world, such as tourism or business services, may also run consistent trade deficits, since services are not included in the statistics of exports and imports of goods. The balance of payments includes data on trade both in goods and in services.

Exports and imports as a percentage of GDP are often used as a measure of a country’s openness to world trade. Smaller countries tend to have higher levels of trade openness than larger ones, since there are fewer opportunities for buying and selling domestically produced goods. The relationship between trade openness and income (measured as GDP per capita) is more complicated, although low income countries generally have low trade openness.

Table 1 shows the basic data on exports, imports and the balance of payments in million euro. The data in Figures 1, 2 and 3, respectively, show the trends in exports, imports and trade balance of the European Neighbourhood Policy-South countries and the EU as a percentage of GDP. They allow a focus on the relative importance of trade flows and trade balance to the size of these economies.

The main interest of Table 1 is to show the absolute sizes of the trade flows. Looking at 2020 data, the largest exporter of goods among the ENP-South countries was Israel (€44.0 billion), followed by Morocco (€24.4 billion), Algeria (€19.7 billion) and Egypt (€16.1 billion). The export values of Tunisia (€8.6 billion) and Libya (€8.8 billion - 2016 data) were about half the values of Algeria and Egypt, with Jordan (€6.8 billion - 2018 data) at an even lower level. Palestine (€0.9 billion – 2019 data) had considerably smaller exports than the other ENP-South countries.

However, every ENP-South country for which recent data is available experienced a substantial fall in international trade in goods from 2019 to 2020, reflecting the sharp global downturn in economic activity and trade during the first phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest decline in exports was recorded by Egypt (-41.5 %), followed by Algeria (-38.5 %) and Tunisia (-36.0 %). In Israel, exports in goods fell by 15.8 %, while Morocco experienced a decrease by half of that (-7.8 %). Following the same trend as the ENP-South countries, the EU also saw a decline in exports of goods between 2019 and 2020, by 9.3 %.

Over the period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2010-2019, Palestine had the largest annual average export growth rate at 11.7 %, although from a very low base. Morocco had the second highest growth rate over this period, at 7.8 %, although this figure may have been affected by a break in the time series in 2013 as the country adopted the general system of trade. Jordan’s annual average exports growth was 4.5 % (2010-2018) and Egypt’s 3.1 %. Israel’s exports increased slightly by an annual average of 1.9 % and Tunisia’s by 0.9 %. In contrast, Algeria’s exports decreased by an average of 3.4 %, while Libya’s exports declined substantially, in average annually by 17.3 % between 2010 and 2016 (more recent data are not available).

In 2020, the largest importer in the ENP-South region was Israel (€60.8 billion), followed with some distance by Egypt (€39.1 billion), Morocco (€38.9 billion) and Algeria (€30.1 billion). Smaller importers were, in descending order, Jordan (€17.8 billion - 2018 data), Tunisia (€11.7 billion), Libya (€9.4 billion - 2016 data) and Palestine (€5.3 billion - 2019 data).

Between 2019 and 2020, Egypt was also the ENP-South country with the largest decrease in imports, with a steep decline of 43.2 %. Tunisia recorded the second largest fall in imports of goods, with a 39.6 % decrease. Smaller declines were observed in Algeria (-19.8 %), Morocco (-14.7 %) and Israel (-11.3 %). The EU also registered a notable decline in imports of goods from 2019 to 2020, by 11.5 %.

The fastest growing importer over 2010-2019 was again Palestine, albeit from a relatively low base, at an annual average increase of 10.0 %. Thereafter followed Egypt and Morocco, both at 6.1 %, although the break in the series in 2013 in Morocco may have affected this result. Next was Israel at 4.8 %, and Jordan, at 4.5 % (2010-2018). Algeria’s imports increased by an annual average 2.4 % over 2010-2019 and Tunisia’s by 1.6 %. Libya was the only country where imports diminished compared to 2010, falling by an annual average of 5.6 % from 2010 up to 2016 (more recent data are not available).

In 2020, the EU’s exports of goods were around 15 times as large as the ENP-South as a whole (most recent data for Jordan – 2018; Libya – 2016 and Palestine - 2019) and its imports more than 8 times as large. The EU’s exports grew by an annual average of 4.5 % over 2010-2019, while its imports increased by 3.1 %.

Table 1: International trade in goods, 2010-2020
(€ million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd) and (enps_ext_sitc)

Figures 1 and 2 present exports and imports of goods as percentages of gross domestic product (GDP), respectively. These are measures of the importance of international trade flows to each economy, and are comparable both over time and between countries. Openness to trade is reported as either the sum or the average of these two ratios – the sum will be used in the following analysis.

Among the three ENP-South countries for which 2020 data are currently available, Morocco had the highest ratio of exports to GDP, at 24.2 %. It also had the highest ratio of imports to GDP, at 38.6 %. Summing up the exports and imports ratios, Morocco registered the greatest openness to trade among the ENP-South countries for which data are available for 2020, at 62.8 % of GDP. Over the period 2010-2020, this also represented the greatest increase in trade openness in the region, by 5.8 percentage points.

However, even higher trade openness was recorded for some ENP-South countries for which recent data are not available. In 2015, Tunisia’s exports were equal to 32.6 % of its GDP and its imports to 46.8 % of GDP. No more recent data are available. Thus, Tunisia’s degree of openness was 79.4 % in 2015, representing a decrease by 8.4 percentage points since 2010. Similarly, Jordan’s exports were equivalent to 20.3 % of its GDP and its imports to 52.0 % in 2016, with more recent data not available. Jordan’s openness to trade was 72.3 % of GDP in 2016, at the same level as in 2010, decreasing only marginally over this period as a whole.

Figure 1: International exports of goods, 2010-2020
(as % of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd), (enps_ext_sitc) and (nama_10_gdp)

In 2020, Algeria had a ratio of imports to GDP of 23.7 %; and of exports to GDP of 15.5 %, giving a trade openness of 39.2 %. Over the period 2010-2020, Algeria’s openness to trade declined each year except 2018, resulting in a substantial decrease of 21.7 % percentage points.

In 2017 (more recent data are not available), Egypt’s exports equalled 13.2 % of its GDP, while its imports amounted to 33.7 % of GDP, yielding a trade openness of 46.8 %. Between 2010 and 2016, Egypt’s trade openness fluctuated with growth and decline generally interchanging year-on-year. Since 2010, its degree of openness had risen by 9.1 percentage points, mainly caused by a rise in trade openness by 14.0 percentage points from 2016 to 2017. The main component was a sharp increase in imports in 2017, accompanied by a considerable rise also in exports.

In 2020, Israel’s exports accounted for 12.3 % of GDP and its imports for 17.0 % of GDP, with an openness to trade at 29.3 % of GDP. This was a decrease by 21.0 percentage points compared to 2010, with the openness falling each year except 2011 and 2018. Palestine’s exports represented 6.3 % and imports 37.6 % of its GDP in 2019, giving a degree of openness at 43.8 % of GDP, an increase by 12.9 percentage points compared to 2010. The trade openness was limited due to the low exports, which ranged between 3.9 % and 6.3 % of GDP in the period 2010-2019, albeit with a slowly increasing overall trend. Data on Libya’s exports and imports are only available for 2010, with exports at 53.2 % and imports at 25.8 % of its GDP, respectively, giving a degree of openness at 79.0 % of GDP in 2010.

The EU’s exports of goods to the rest of the world were equivalent to 14.4 % and its imports to 12.8 % of its GDP in 2020, yielding a degree of trade openness of 27.3 %. This was an increase of only 0.8 percentage points compared to 2010. Over most of the period, the EU’s trade openness ranged between 28.8 % and 30.5 % of GDP, falling slightly below this level only in 2010, 2016 and 2020.

Figure 2: International imports of goods, 2010-2020
(as % of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd), (enps_ext_sitc) and (nama_10_gdp)

Figure 3 shows the balance of trade in goods for the ENP-South countries and the EU as a percentage of GDP during the period 2010-2020. This provides a measure of the size of trade surpluses and deficits that is comparable over time and between countries. Countries’ ability to run trade deficits depends on many factors, including their non-goods international earnings from items such as provision of services, including tourism; factor earnings, including from labour; and remittances from abroad.

Over the period 2010-2020, the ENP-South countries have generally been running trade deficits for goods, although at different levels. The only countries to run trade surpluses in some of the earlier years of the period were the hydrocarbon exporters Algeria and Libya (only 2010 data available), as well as, to a more modest extent, Israel in 2015.

The largest trade deficits in the ENP-South region were registered by Jordan, with its deficit at its greatest magnitude in 2012, at 38.4 % of GDP, followed by high deficits also in the subsequent two years (36.0 % in 2013; 36.8 % in 2014). Deficits were slightly smaller but rather similar before and after this peak period, with deficits above 31 % of GDP each of these years. The most recent value available for Jordan is for 2016, at 31.6 % of GDP.

Palestine experienced substantial trade deficits for goods between 2010 and 2019 (2020 data not yet available), with the largest deficits at 31.3 % in 2019 and 29.1 % in 2018. Between 2010 and 2013 its trade deficits ranged from 21.5 % to 23.8 %, while between 2014 and 2017, they varied between 26.3 % and 27.5 %. Trade deficits in Egypt through 2010 to 2016 remained roughly at the same level, ranging from 11.9 % in 2013 to 16.6 % in 2015, before reaching a peak at 20.5 % in 2017, the most recent data available.

Morocco also ran consistent trade deficits for goods 2010-2020. Following deficits above 20 % of GDP in the years 2011-2014, with the largest deficit recorded in 2012 at 23.9 %, the deficits stabilised at a somewhat lower level in the subsequent years, at between 18.6 % (2018) and 15.6 % (2015), before falling to the smallest deficit of the period at 14.5 % of GDP in 2020.

Tunisia has run a fairly consistent goods trade deficit between 2010 and 2015, the most recent data available. The smallest deficit in this period was at 13.2 % of GDP in 2010 and the largest at 16.9 % in 2014.

Algeria started the period with a surplus of 11.0 % of GDP in 2010, which increased to a surplus of 13.2 % of GDP in 2011. A continuous decline in the trade balance occurred in the following years, with the balance turning into a deficit of 9.9 % by 2015 and reaching its lowest point with a deficit of 10.7 % of GDP in 2016. The deficit has been more moderate in the years since, ranging from 2.5 % in 2018 to 8.2 % in 2020.

Israel has maintained a modest although somewhat deteriorating trade deficit over 2010-2020. The trade balance started the period in 2010 with a 0.3 % deficit, which then deteriorated to a deficit of 3.9 % of GDP in 2012. The trade balance subsequently improved, to the only surplus of the period at 0.7 % in 2015, before moving into deficit again. The largest trade deficit over the whole period was recorded in 2018, at 5.1 % of GDP, which remained at the same level with 4.6 % in 2019 and 4.7 % in 2020.

The only data available for Libya was in 2010, when it ran a significant trade surplus at 27.4 % of GDP.

The EU’s trade balance as a percentage of GDP has ranged from a deficit of 0.4 % in 2011 to a surplus of 2.1 % in 2016. In 2020, the surplus stood at 1.6 % of GDP.

Figure 3: Balance of international trade in goods, 2010-2020
(as % of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intratrd), (enps_ext_sitc) and (nama_10_gdp)

Trade between the EU and ENP-South countries

Figure 4 shows each country’s exports and imports with the EU for 2010, 2015 and 2020 as shares of their total exports and imports of goods.

In 2020, the EU accounted for a majority of the exports of goods from Tunisia, at 71.8 % of Tunisia’s total trade in goods, while imports to Tunisia from the EU amounted to 47.9 % of the total. The share of imports from the EU had fallen sharply across the last decade, by 11.9 percentage points from a share of 59.7 % in 2010 and 54.7 % in 2015. Morocco was the ENP-South country with the highest share of imports coming from the EU in 2020, with 50.8 % of its total imports of goods. Exports to the EU accounted for 63.7 % of the total, the second highest among these countries. Algeria ranked third for trade in goods with the EU, importing 41.7 % of its total from the EU and exporting 54.0 % to the EU. In Egypt, the EU’s share of both imports and exports was around one quarter in 2019 (2020 data not yet available), at 25.3 % and 25.0 %, respectively. The EU accounted for 21.8 % of Israel’s exports in 2020 and 34.8 % of its imports. The EU was the source of 11.7 % of Palestine’s imports in 2019 and almost none of its direct exports (0.8 %; 2019 data).

Figure 4: International trade in goods with the EU, 2010, 2015 and 2020
(% share of total exports / imports)
Source: Eurostat (enps_ext_sitc)

Trade in goods by broad group of products

Figures 5 and 6 provide, for each of the European Neighbourhood Policy–South countries, a breakdown of their exports and imports to and from the EU in million euro, analysed by broad group of goods and presented as shares of total trade flows. The ten main sections of the Standard international trade classification (SITC Rev.4) have been grouped into six product groups for the purpose of this analysis.

Looking at Figure 5, exports from Algeria to the EU in 2020 almost exclusively (98.3 %) consisted of ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’ (SITC sections 3 and 5), unsurprisingly for a hydrocarbons producer. By far the largest share of Egypt’s exports to the EU, 48.9 %, also consisted of this product group. ‘Other manufactured goods’ (which cover SITC sections 6 and 8) accounted for a further 23.5 % of Egypt’s exports to the EU. ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’ provided 36.4 % of Israel’s exports of goods to the EU in 2020; ‘Other manufactured goods’ provided further 27.1 % and ‘Machinery and vehicles’ (SITC section 7) 27.0 %.

‘Machinery and vehicles’ made up 44.7 % of Morocco’s exports to the EU in 2020, followed by ‘Other manufactured goods’ (23.1 %) and ‘Food, drinks and tobacco’ (SITC sections 0, 1 and 4) (22.5 %). ‘Other manufactured goods’ accounted for 41.3 % of Tunisia’s exports to the EU in 2020 and ‘Machinery and vehicles’ for 39.8 %. As highlighted by Figure 4, Palestine’s direct exports to the EU are marginal. Nevertheless, 73.8 % of them were made up by ‘Food, drinks and tobacco’.

Figure 5: Exports of goods to the EU by broad group of goods, 2010, 2015 and 2020
(shares of total value)
Source: Eurostat (enps_ext_sitc)

Figure 6 shows that 28.3 % of Algeria’s imports of goods from the EU consisted of ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’ in 2020, together with a further 24.2 % of ‘Machinery and vehicles’, 23.2 % of ‘Food, drinks and tobacco’ and 20.2 % of ‘Other manufactured goods’. Egypt’s imports from the EU included 30.1 % ‘Machinery and vehicles’, 21.7 % ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’ and 18.9 % ‘Other manufactured goods’.

Israel’s imports of goods from the EU in 2020 were made up of 42.7 % of ‘Machinery and vehicles’, 25.5 % of ‘Other manufactured goods’ and 19.0 % of ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’. Similarly, 38.8 % of Morocco’s imports from the EU consisted of ‘Machinery and vehicles’, 27.0 % of ‘Other manufactured goods’ and 20.9 % of ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’. Palestine’s limited imports from the EU included 37.1 % ‘Machinery and vehicles’, 26.3 % ‘Food, drinks and tobacco’ and 20.2 % of ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’ (2019 data). Tunisia’s imports from the EU in 2020 comprised 35.2 % ‘Other manufactured goods’, 29.6 % ‘Machinery and vehicles’ and 26.1 % ‘Mineral fuels, lubricants, related goods and chemicals’.

Figure 6: Imports of goods from the EU by broad group of goods, 2009 and 2019
(shares of total value)
Source: Eurostat (enps_ext_sitc)

Source data for tables and graphs

European Neighbourhood Policy — South countries — international trade: tables and figures

Data sources

The data for ENP-South countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The majority of the data presented in this article result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. No recent data are available from Syria. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of different indicators covering most socio-economic areas. More data are available from the United Nations’ Comtrade database.

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 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 nationally, within the EU and internationally) 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.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), launched in 2004, supports and fosters stability, security and prosperity in the EU’s neighbourhood. The ENP was revised in 2015. The main principles of the revised policy are a tailored approach to partner countries; flexibility; joint ownership; greater involvement of EU member states and shared responsibility. The ENP aims to deepen engagement with civil society and social partners. It offers partner countries greater access to the EU’s market and regulatory framework, standards and internal agencies and programmes.

The Joint Communication by the European External Action Service and the European Commission on Renewed Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood, accompanied by an EU Economic and Investment Plan for our Southern Neighbours, of 9 February 2021 further strengthens cooperation with the ENP-South countries.

The main objective of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in statistics is to enable the production and dissemination of reliable and comparable data, in line with European and international norms and standards.

Reliable and comparable data are essential for evidence-based decision-making. They are needed to monitor the implementation of the agreements between the EU and the ENP-South countries, the impact of policy interventions and the reaching of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The EU has been supporting statistical capacity building in the region for a number of years through bilateral and regional capacity-building. This takes the form of technical assistance to partner countries’ national statistical authorities through targeted assistance programmes and activities such as training courses, working groups and workshops, exchange of best practice and the transfer of statistical know-how. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.

Notes

↑ This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.