Monthly statistics on the international trade in goods, April 2020

30.6.2020 9.00

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Finnish Customs, Statistics

Both export volume and export prices fell in April

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 19.9 per cent year-on-year in April, according to the international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs. The value of Finnish exports was EUR 4.4 billion. Export volumes decreased by 15.4 per cent and export prices by 4.4 per cent year-on-year. The value of imports declined by 26.8 per cent in April to about EUR 4.3 billion. Import prices decreased by 3.8 per cent and import volumes by 23.1 per cent compared to April 2019. In January-April, the aggregated value of exports decreased by 14.5 per cent and the value of imports by 9.1 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year.

In April 2020, the trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 144 million. In April 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 321 million. In January-April 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 1.2 billion, while there was a deficit of EUR 51 million in January-April 2019. The terms of trade for international trade are calculated based on the unit value index. Terms of trade show the ratio between export and import prices. The terms of trade weakened compared to the corresponding month of 2019 as export prices fell more than import prices fell. The point figure in April was 99.4, while it was 99.9 in April 2019. The terms of trade declined also from the March 2020 point figure of 100.6.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 25.0 per cent in April. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 9.9 per cent. Exports of metals and metal products decreased by 28.9 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products increased by 0.7 per cent. The value of exports of petroleum products declined by 57.8 per cent. Exports of food increased by 13.3 per cent and of instruments and apparatus by 6.5 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 7.5 per cent and of capital goods by 14.3 per cent in April. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 67.9 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 67.5 per cent. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 13.2 per cent and of food and beverages by 5.1 per cent in April.

Exports to EU countries fell by 21.4 per cent and exports outside the EU by 18.0 per cent in April. Imports from EU countries decreased by 26.7 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 26.8 per cent in April. Exports to all major trading partners decreased. Exports to Germany decreased by 37.6 per cent, to UK by 39.6 per cent and to USA by 28.6 per cent. Imports from Germany fell by 30.4 per cent, from Russia by 54.8 per cent and from USA by 30.7 per cent. In January-April, exports to EU countries declined by 14.8 and to non-EU countries by 14.1 per cent. During the same period imports from EU countries decreased by 7.7 per cent and from outside the EU by 11.1 per cent.

Table 1. Total development (e million)

Direction	April 2019	April 2020	Change %	January-April 2019	January-April 2020	Change %
Exports (fob)	5 505	4 412	-19,9	21 983	18 796	-14,5
Imports (cif)	5 827	4 268	-26,8	22 034	20 035	-9,1
Balance	-321	144		-51	-1 239

Table 2. International trade indexes (2010=100)

Index	April 2019	April 2020	Change % 2020:04/2020:03	Change % 2020:04/2019:04	Mean * 2019:05-2020:04	Change % 2019:05-2020:04/ 2018:05-2019:04
Volume index exports	103,6	87,7	-11,2	-15,4	98,6	-3,7
Volume index imports	111,5	85,7	-20,5	-23,1	103,3	-2,4
Unit value index exports	119,5	114,3	-0,9	-4,4	117,8	-0,7
Unit value index imports	119,6	115,0	0,4	-3,8	117,6	-2,2

* Moving 12-months averages

Further information:
Telasuo, Christina tel. +358 40 332 1828
Riikonen, Johanna tel. +358 40 332 1824
forename.surname@tulli.fi

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