Welsh exports: July 2019 to June 2020

The provisional data in this report is for April to June 2020. The data for this period shows significant decreases in the value of goods exports for Wales. HMRC have reported that trade in recent months has seen abnormally low values as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Data covers exports of goods and includes information by destination and product sector.

Main points

April to June 2020 (provisional)

Short term, quarterly changes can be volatile, although are presented here given the significance of the decreases seen across the UK in April to June 2020 compared with the start of the year.

• In April to June 2020, the value of goods exports in Wales was the lowest since comparable data were first published in 2013 at £2.7 billion. This is a decrease of 34.8% compared to the previous quarter, by far the largest quarterly decrease since records began. Over the same period, the decrease across the UK was 26.1%.
• Compared to the same quarter in the previous year (April to June 2019) the decrease in Wales was 39.2% and 30.7% across the UK.
• The decrease in Wales compared to the previous quarter was the largest out of the 4 nations. Scotland saw the smallest decrease, although still significant, at 21.2%.
• When comparing Wales with the English regions, only 2 regions had larger decreases; the North East (39.4%) and the West Midlands (47.2%).

July 2019 to June 2020 (provisional)

• The value of goods exports for Wales was £15.5 billion in the year ending June 2020, down £2.2 billion (12.5%) compared to the year ending June 2019.
• For the first time since comparable records began in 2013, the value of goods exports in all 12 of the UK countries and English regions have decreased compared to the year ending June 2019. London experienced the smallest decrease (down 2.6%), while the West Midlands saw the largest decrease (down 14.4%). Wales saw the third largest decrease.
• The decrease in Wales is the largest since the middle of 2015, and the largest decrease in the UK since comparable records began.
• There was a decrease in exports to EU countries of £1.6 billion (14.8%) and a decrease in exports to non-EU countries of £0.6 billion (9.1%), compared with the previous year. Exports to the EU accounted for 59.2% of Welsh exports compared with 47.4% for the UK.
• This is the largest decrease in EU exports since the middle of 2015 and the largest decrease in non-EU exports since the end of 2015. This is the first time non-EU exports has decreased since 2016 and the second time (the first being the year ending March 2020) that EU exports have decreased since 2015.
• France remains as the top goods export destination for Wales, having replaced Germany in the previous period (year ending March 2020). Goods exports to France accounted for 15.3% of exports. This proportion is down from 15.6% of exports in the previous year.
• Exports from Wales continue to be dominated by ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’  which made up 48.1% of exports.
• 8 of the 10 product groups experienced decreases in the value of goods exports compared with the previous year. The only increases were in “Food and Live Animals” (up 1.6%) and “Chemicals and Related Products” (up 0.6%).

Further information

The figures are modelled estimates produced by HM Revenue and Customs and relate to goods exported to destinations outside of the UK. Exports of goods are allocated to UK countries and regions based on the proportion of employees in that area. The figures do not include service exports. Experimental statistics produced by the Office for National statistics suggest that service exports make up approximately 30% of total exports in Wales.

Key results and StatsWales data cubes are published quarterly and a report published every 12 months.