Skip to content

Monthly statistics on the international trade in goods, February 2020

30.4.2020 9.00



Finnish Customs, Statistics

Both export volume and export prices fell in February

The value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 14.6 per cent year-on-year in February, 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 13.3 per cent and export prices by 1.1 per cent year-on-year. The value of imports declined by 2.4 per cent in February to about EUR 5.1 billion. Import prices increased by 1.4 per cent, but import volumes decreased by 2.7 per cent compared to February 2019.

In February, the trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 746 million. In February 2019, the trade balance had a deficit of EUR 121 million. In January-February 2020, the trade balance had a deficit of about EUR 1.0 billion, while there was a surplus of EUR 393 million in January-February 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 import prices increased and export prices fell. The point figure in February was 97.7, while it was 100.1 in February 2019. The terms of trade declined also from the January 2020 point figure of 96.8.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment declined by 3.6 per cent in February. Exports of forest industry products diminished by 47.6 per cent. Strikes in January and February had an impact on the export performance of the forest industry sector. Exports of metals and metal products diminished by 9.7 per cent. Exports of chemicals and related products declined by 0.8 per cent and exports of petroleum and products by 32.1 per cent. Exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap increased by 31.8 per, but exports of instruments and apparats decreased by 18.8 per cent.

The value of imports of industrial supplies fell by 3.1 per cent and of capital goods by 0.6 per cent in February. The value of imports of fuels and lubricants diminished by 15.3 per cent. Imports of transport equipment and parts decreased by 1.1 per cent. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 1.3 per cent and of food and beverages by 1.1 per cent in February.

United Kingdom withdrew from the EU January 31st 2020. UK data has been excluded from the group “EU-countries” and included in the group “external trade” from February 2020 publications onwards in international trade in goods statistics provided by Finnish Customs. For comparability and consistency of time series the data has also been transferred retrospectively. The transfer has an impact on the value, change and shares for the groups “EU countries”, “External trade” and “Rest of Europe” but not on total values of international trade or on data for Euro-countries.

In the calculation of unit value and volume indices in 2020, the United Kingdom has been transferred to external trade from February. Therefore, in index calculation the year 2020 was split into two parts. In the index calculation for January 2020 UK index weight is included in internal trade. From February 2020 onwards, January 2020 is used as a new link month for the index where UK is included in external trade. The transfer has an impact on index point figure and change on subindex time series of EU exports and imports as well as exports and imports series of external trade of both unit value and volume indices from February 2020 onwards.

Exports to EU countries fell by 13.6 per cent and exports outside the EU by 15.7 per cent in February. Imports from EU countries decreased by 1.5 per cent and imports from outside the EU by 3.7 per cent in February. Exports to all major trading partners fell in February. Imports from China increased slightly in February, but imports from other major trading partners declined. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 31.2 per cent and imports from the United Kingdom by 0.1 per cent in February.

In January-February, exports to EU countries decreased by 17.7 and exports to non-EU countries by 13.0. During the same period, imports from EU countries decreased by 2.9 per cent and from outside the EU by 2.7 per cent. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 17.3 per cent, but imports from the United Kingdom increased by 1.9 per cent in January-February.

Table 1. Total development (e million)

Direction February 2019 February 2020 Change % January-February 2019 January-February 2020 Change %
Exports (fob) 5 144 4 394 -14,6 10 981 9 258 -15,7
Imports (cif) 5 265 5 140 -2,4 10 588 10 292 -2,8
Balance -121 -746   393 -1 034  

Table 2. International trade indexes (2010=100)

Index February 2019 February 2020 Change %
2020:02/2020:01
Change %
2020:02/2019:02
Mean *
2019:03-2020:02
Change %
2019:03-2020:02/
2018:03-2019:02
Volume index exports 98,8 85,7 -8,5 -13,3 100,3 -2,7
Volume index imports 102,4 99,6 +1,7 -2,7 105,5 +0,1
Unit value index exports 117,7 116,4 -0,5 -1,1 118,5 +0,6
Unit value index imports 117,6 119,2 -1,4 +1,4 118,3 -1,5

* Moving 12-months averages

Free access to detailed statistics on the international trade in goods through Uljas  http://uljas.tulli.fi

Further information:
Kaarna, Anssi tel. +358 40 332 8153
Telasuo, Christina tel. +358 40 332 1828
forename.surname@tulli.fi

Exports and imports of Finland 2017-2020, February 2020
  • Exports and imports of Finland 2017-2020, February 2020

Asiasanat
Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT) Ulkomaankaupan kuukausitilasto
Seuraava julkistus

29.5.2020