Welsh exports: October 2019 to September 2020

The provisional data in this report is for October – September 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

July to September 2020 (provisional)

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

• Between July and September 2020, the value of goods exports in Wales was £3.2 billion. This is an increase of 17.5% compared to the previous quarter. Over the same period, the increase across the UK was 19.4%.
• Compared to the same quarter in the previous year (July to September 2019) the decrease in Wales was 27.9% and 18.6% across the UK.
• All four UK nations saw increases in exports compared to the previous quarter. England saw the largest increase of 19.4%, Northern Ireland 18.1%, Wales 17.5% and Scotland 13.1%.

Year ending September 2020

• The value of goods exports for Wales was £14.3 billion in the year ending September 2020, down £3.5 billion (19.7%) compared to the year ending September 2019.
• The decreases in Wales and the UK as a whole are the largest since comparable records began.
• For the second time since comparable records began in 2013, the value of goods exports across all UK countries and English regions have decreased compared to the year ending September 2019. London experienced the smallest decrease (down 8.8%), while the West Midlands saw the largest decrease (down 20.3%). Wales saw the second largest decrease.
• There was a decrease in exports to EU countries of £2.5 billion (23.0%) and a decrease in exports to non-EU countries of £1.0 billion (14.5%), compared with the previous year. Exports to the EU accounted for 58.5% of Welsh exports compared with 47.5% for the UK.
• Germany remained the top goods export destination for Wales (year ending September 2020). Goods exports to Germany accounted for 15.4% of exports. This proportion is down from 16.6% of exports in the previous year.
• Exports from Wales continue to be dominated by ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’ which made up 47.3% of exports.
• All 10 product groups experienced decreases in the value of goods exports compared with the previous year. The largest decreases were in “Beverages and Tobacco” (down 32.2%) and “Commodities not Classified Elsewhere” (down 37.6%).

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.