Monthly statistics on the international trade in goods, May 2017

31.7.2017 9.00

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Finnish Customs, Statistics

Both export volume and export prices increased in May

The value of Finnish exports of goods increased by 27 per cent in May year-on-year according to international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs. The value of Finnish exports was slightly under 5.6 billion euros. Export prices grew by 6.3 per cent and export volume increased by 21 per cent. In January-May exports increased by 18 per cent.

The value of imports increased by 16 per cent in May and was almost 5.3 billion euros. Import prices increased by 6.0 per cent and import volume by 12.4 per cent. In January-May the total import value increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous year.

The balance of trade showed a surplus of 257 million euros in May. In January-May the balance of trade had a deficit of 770 billion euros. In May the previous year the trade deficit was 182 million euros and in January-May the trade balance showed a deficit of almost 1,4 billion euros.

The terms of trade for foreign trade are calculated based on the unit value index. Terms of trade show the ratio between export and import prices. The terms of trade improved in May because export prices grew more than import prices. The point figure in May was 101.5, while it was 101.2 May the previous year. The terms of trade deteriorated from the previous month's point figure of 101.9.

Exports of transport equipment increased considerably when a cruise ship and an aeroplane was exported to the EU area. Exports of petroleum products, electrical machinery and equipment, metals and cars improved also compared to the previous year's May, while exports of medicaments declined. Imports of machinery and transport equipment, crude oil and petroleum products and metals increased, while imports of medicaments were down.  

Exports to EU member states increased by 32 per cent in May and exports to non-EU countries by 19 per cent. The most important export countries to rise in May were Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Ireland and China. Exports to Spain and France decreased. Imports from EU-countries increased by 11 per cent while imports from non-EU countries rose by 26 per cent in May. Imports from France, Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom decreased, while imports from Russia, Germany, Sweden, China and Poland increased.

Table 1. Total development (e million)
	May		Change	January-May		Change
	2016	2017	%	2016	2017	%
Exports (fob)	4 365	5 552	+27	20 836	24 524	+18
Imports (cif)	4 546	5 296	+16	22 219	25 294	+14
Balance	-182	+257		-1 383	-770

Table 2. International trade indexes
2010=100	May		Change		Mean*	Change
	2016:05	2017:05	2017:05/ 2017:04	2017:05/ 2016:05	2016:06-2017:05	2016:06-2017:05/ 2015:06-2016:05
Volume index
Exports	92,7	112,2	+23,2	+21,0	94,9	+2,2
Imports	98,3	110,5	+8,6	+12,4	101,5	+2,4
Unit value index
Exports	105,7	112,4	-0,5	+6,3	110,0	+4,3
Imports	104,4	110,7	-0,2	+6,0	108,6	+4,6
* Moving 12-months averages

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Further information:
Kaarna, Anssi tel. +358 40 332 8153
Penttilä, Olli-Pekka tel. +358 40 332 1862
[email protected]

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