Trade Survey for Wales (TSW): 2022 (official statistics in development)
Statistics on trade in goods and services from businesses in Wales for 2022.
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Introduction
The TSW is an online voluntary survey of businesses in Wales. It captures trade flows of sales and purchases of goods and services by businesses directly based in Wales. This release presents provisional estimates for 2022 and may be subject to future revisions. Historic data that has been revised is marked with (r).
Main results
This release mainly presents findings for 2022 only, analysed by location, business size and sector. Comparisons with 2021 and other data sources are included in the comparability and coherence section. Broad comparisons over time can be undertaken, but due to the nature of the survey, comparisons of detailed breakdowns across time are not advised. Data limitations are explained in the data considerations section and separate quality and methodology information (QMI) report. These are ‘official statistics in development’ [footnote 1].
2022 sales values
- The total value of sales from businesses in Wales was estimated to be £144.9bn.
- 71% (£103.3bn) of sales from businesses in Wales were goods and 29% (£41.4bn) were services.
- 47% of sales went to customers in Wales, 33% to the rest of the UK (RUK), 17% to international destinations (7% to the EU and 9% to Non-EU countries). 3% of sales were unallocated by destination.
2022 purchases values
- The total value of purchases by businesses in Wales was estimated to be £60.6bn.
- 77% (£46.8bn) of purchases by businesses in Wales were goods and 23% (£13.8bn) services.
- 24% of purchases came from customers in Wales, 42% from the rest of the UK (RUK), 17% from international origins (8% from the EU and 10% from Non-EU countries). 16% of purchases were unallocated.
Data considerations
The results of the survey are ‘official statistics in development’ as the method employed is still in development. More information about data quality can be found in the QMI report and the definitions of various terms used throughout can be found in the glossary and abbreviations. The following should be taken into account when reviewing the results:
- The results should be treated as provisional due to the likelihood of future revisions from methodological improvements.
- It should be noted that unallocated trade varies substantially across the years of TSW. Unallocated values exist where businesses made sales or purchases but were not able to allocate it.
- There was a 15% survey response rate.
- The TSW estimates should not be used to calculate a trade balance as there is limited industry coverage.
Sales
Businesses responding to the TSW were asked to indicate whether they had made sales of goods and/or services in the calendar year 2022 and provide the total value of these sales and a breakdown to the respective regions.
Destination of sales by goods and services
The total value of sales from businesses in Wales in 2022 was estimated to be £144.9bn, goods accounted for 71% (£103.3bn) of sales and services accounted for 29% (£41.4bn) (Figure 1).
Four fifths of business sales are made within the UK (80%, £116.4bn), with almost half of all sales within Wales (47%, £68.2bn) and a third to the rest of the UK (33%, £48.2bn). Sales within Wales were almost three times exports (17%, £24.2bn) with 7% (£10.8bn) to the EU and 9% (£13.4bn) to Non-EU countries. Unallocated sales accounted for 3% (£4.2bn) of total sales.
Just over three-quarters (77%, £79.2bn) of goods sales were within the UK (including Wales), and 21% (£21.7bn) of goods sales were international. The vast majority (90%, £37.2bn) of services sales were within the UK (including Wales) and 6% (£2.5bn) of services sales were international (Figure 1).
Non-EU countries accounted for 55% (£13.4bn) of all international exports compared with 45% (£10.8bn) to the EU. Goods accounted for 90% (£21.7bn) of all international exports (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Sales by destination by goods and services (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 1: A clustered bar chart showing goods sales was greater than services sales for businesses in Wales, and that goods and services sales were mostly to the UK (including Wales).
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Destination of sales by proportion of businesses
Most businesses in Wales made sales within Wales (90%), with 45% making sales to the rest of the UK. A lower proportion of businesses exported products (12%), with 11% exporting to the EU and 8% exporting to Non-EU countries (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Proportion of businesses in Wales with sales by destination, 2022
Description of Figure 2: A bar chart showing most businesses in Wales made sales within Wales, followed by the rest of the UK and internationally.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Sales by business size and destination
Large businesses had almost triple the sales (60%, £86.3bn) of both small businesses (21%, £30.4bn) or medium business (19%, £28.1bn) (Figure 3).
Small businesses had the highest proportion of domestic sales (Wales and rest of the UK), accounting for 90% (£27.3bn) of their sales. Medium businesses had the highest proportion of international sales (EU and Non-EU countries), accounting for 20% (£5.6bn) of their sales.
Large businesses had the highest proportion of international sales to Non-EU countries (61%, £9.8bn). Conversely, Medium businesses had the highest proportion of international sales to EU countries (59%, £3.3bn).
Large businesses had the highest value of unallocated sales accounting for 3% (£2.5bn) of their total sales value.
Figure 3: Sales by business size and destination (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 3: A clustered bar chart showing large businesses had the highest sales value, with medium businesses having the highest proportion of exports and small businesses having the highest proportion of domestic sales.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Sales by sector [footnote 2]
The ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ sector had the highest value of overall sales accounting for 39% (£56.0bn) of all sales from businesses in Wales followed by ‘Manufacturing’ with 29% (£41.6bn) (Figure 4).
The ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ sector accounted for over half (53%, £36.0bn) of sales within Wales. The ‘Manufacturing’ sector accounted for over a third (37%, £18.0bn) of sales to the rest of the UK.
The ‘Manufacturing’ sector accounted for the majority (79%, £19.2bn) of exports, followed by the ‘Business and other services’ sector (15%, £3.7bn).
Figure 4: Sales by sector and broad destination (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 4: A clustered bar chart showing ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ had the highest sales, followed by ‘Manufacturing’.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Rest of the UK sales by country
Sales to the rest of the UK accounted for almost a third (33%, £48.2bn) of all sales from businesses in Wales. Of these, most of the sales were to England (49%, £23.7bn), followed by Northern Ireland (8%, £4.0bn) and Scotland (5%, £2.5bn) (Figure 5). A large proportion (37%, £18.0bn) of rest of UK sales was unallocated to a country.
Sales to England made up most of the rest of UK sales across all business sizes and sectors.
Figure 5: Rest of the UK sales by country (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 5: A treemap showing that most of the rest of the UK sales were to England, followed by a high value of unallocated sales.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Top products sold domestically (Wales and the rest of the UK)
Businesses in Wales were asked to select the top 5 products they sold within the UK as a whole (including Wales) and their value [footnote 3]. These figures do not capture sales of products outside the top 5 products. ‘Buildings and building construction works’ made up 7% (£5.3bn) of the total UK product sales value, followed by ‘Other manufactured goods’ (6%, £4,2bn) (Figure 6). It is advised against making comparisons of these breakdowns across the years due to the nature of the survey and sample.
Figure 6: Top 5 products sold by businesses within Wales across the UK (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 6: A bar chart showing the top commodity sold by businesses in Wales to across the UK (including Wales) was ‘Building and building construction works’.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Top countries exported to
Businesses were asked to identify the top five countries they exported to, along with the associated value. These figures do not capture exports to countries outside of the top 5 countries and some businesses may not have been able to allocate their international exports to specific countries.
The United States was the top country with £5.1bn worth of exports, followed by France and Germany at £2.9bn and £2.5bn respectively (Figure 7)
Figure 7: Exports to the top 5 countries (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 7: A bar chart showing that the United States, followed by France and Germany were the top countries businesses in Wales exported to.
Purchases
Businesses responding to the TSW were asked to indicate whether they had purchased goods and/or services in the calendar year 2022 and provide the total value of these purchases and the breakdown to the respective regions.
Origin of purchases, by goods and services
The total value of purchases from businesses in Wales in 2022 was estimated to be £60.6bn, goods accounted for over three quarters (77%, £46.8bn) and services accounted for under a quarter (23%, £13.8bn) (Figure 8).
Two thirds of purchases were from within the UK (66%, £40.3bn), with almost a quarter (24%, £14.7bn) of purchases from within Wales, and 42% (£25.6bn) from the rest of the UK. Imports accounted for 17% (£10.4bn) of all purchases, with 8% (£4.6bn) from the EU and 10% (£5.8bn) from Non-EU countries. Unallocated purchases accounted for 16% (£9.9bn).
Almost half of all goods purchases were from the rest of the UK (46%, £21.5bn), more than double goods purchases from Wales (19%, £9.1bn). Most service purchases were within Wales (41%, £5.7bn) which was almost three times international service purchases (14%, £2.0bn).
Non-EU countries accounted for 56% (£5.8bn) of all international imports compared with the EU which accounted for 44% (£4.6bn). Goods accounted for 81% (£8.4bn) of all international imports, with a broadly even split between the EU (48%, £4.1bn) and non-EU countries (52%, £4.4bn).
Figure 8: Purchases by origin (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 8: A clustered bar chart showing goods purchases was greater than services purchases for businesses in Wales, and that goods and services sales were mostly to the UK (including Wales).
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Purchases by origin, proportion of businesses
Most businesses in Wales made purchases within Wales (84%), with 65% making purchases from the rest of the UK. A lower proportion of businesses imported (20%), with 18% importing from the EU and 10% importing from Non-EU countries (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Proportion of businesses in Wales with purchases by origin, 2022
Description of Figure 9: A bar chart showing most businesses in Wales made purchases within Wales, followed by the rest of the UK and internationally.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Purchases by business size and origin
Large, medium and small businesses accounted for 40% (£24.0bn), 31% (£18.8bn) and 30% (£17.9bn) of purchases by businesses in Wales respectively (Figure 10).
Small businesses had the highest proportion of UK purchases accounting for 72% (£13.0bn) of their purchases, and the highest value and proportion of imports, accounting for 21% (£3.8bn) of their purchases.
Small businesses had the highest value and proportion of imports from Non-EU countries (68%, £2.6bn). Conversely, large businesses had the highest value and proportion of EU imports (53%, £1.8bn).
Medium businesses had the highest value and proportion of unallocated purchases accounting for 27% (£5.1bn) of their total purchases value.
Figure 10: Purchases by business size and origin (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 10: A clustered bar chart showing large businesses had the highest purchases value and small businesses had the highest proportion of domestic purchases and the highest value and proportion of imports.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Purchases by sector
‘Manufacturing’ had the highest value of overall purchases accounting for 39% (£23.4bn) of all purchases by businesses in Wales followed by ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ with 31% (£18.8bn) (Figure 11).
‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ accounted for over a quarter (29%, £4.3bn) of purchases from Wales and under half (42%, £10.7bn) of purchases from the rest of the UK.
‘Manufacturing’ had the highest import value (£5.8bn) making up over half of imports (56%), followed by ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’ (£2.4bn), which accounted for under a quarter (23%) of imports.
Figure 11: Purchases by sector and broad origin (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 11: A clustered bar chart showing ‘Manufacturing’ had the highest purchases value, followed by ‘Trade, accommodation and transport’.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Purchases from the rest of the UK by country
Purchases from the rest of the UK accounted for 42% (£25.6bn) of all purchases from businesses in Wales. Of these, most of the purchases, across all business sizes and sectors, were from England (83%, £21.2bn), followed by Scotland and Northern Ireland with 1% (£0.3bn) and 1% (£0.1bn) respectively. A further 15% (£3.9bn) of RUK purchases were unallocated (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Rest of the UK purchases by country (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 12: A treemap showing that most of the rest of the UK purchases were from England, followed by a high value of unallocated purchases.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Comparability and coherence
Comparability across the years
High level comparisons are made to 2021 but due to the nature of the survey, the response rate and variability in the achieved sample across the years of fieldwork, it is advised against comparisons of detailed breakdowns across time.
It should also be noted that the value of unallocated trade in TSW 2020 and 2021 increased substantially from previous years. A proportion of the value changes seen across years is likely to be a result of the variability of unallocated trade.
Comparability of sales and purchases by region breakdown
In 2022, sales by businesses in Wales decreased slightly by 4% (£5.6bn) compared to 2021. Although rest of UK sales increased by 44% (£14.8bn), sales within Wales decreased by 6% (£4.0bn) and unallocated sales decreased by 81% (£18.1bn). In 2022 international sales by businesses in Wales increased by 8% (£1.7bn). A large decrease in unallocated sales may have impacted some of the changes (Figure 13).
In 2022, purchases by businesses in Wales decreased by £34.2bn (36%). This was mainly driven by a decrease in unallocated purchases (63%, £16.8bn) and a decrease in purchases from within Wales (46%, £12.8bn) (Figure 13). However, it should be noted that purchases in 2021 increased considerably (33%, £23.7bn) (r) compared to 2019, due to an unusually large increase in unallocated purchases (238%, £18.8bn) (r). Taking this into account, in 2022 purchases decreased by 15% (£10.5bn) compared to 2019. The volatility in purchases and that these are ‘official statistics in development’, should be considered when making comparisons.
Figure 13: Sales by destination and purchases by origin (£bn), 2021-2022
Description of Figure 13: A clustered bar chart showing sales from 2021 to 2022 slightly decreasing driven mainly by unallocated sales, and purchases from 2021 to 2022 decreasing driven mainly by unallocated purchases and purchases from within Wales.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Comparability of sales and purchases by business size
Sales from large businesses have consistently made up proportionately at least 50% of total sales, staying proportionately broadly similar in 2022 (60%, £86.3bn) compared to 2021 (61%, £91.6bn) (r). Despite the sales of medium businesses increasing by 12% (£3.1bn) between 2021 and 2022, there was a decrease in total sales, driven by a decrease in sales of small (10%, £3.4bn) and large businesses (6%, £5.3bn) (Figure 14).
Purchases from large businesses decreased by 59% (£34.7bn), having previously made up 62% (£58.7bn) (r) of total purchases in 2021 and decreasing to 40% (£24.0bn) of total purchases in 2022. The decrease in purchases by large businesses, drove a decrease in total purchases by 36% (£34.2bn) despite purchases from medium businesses increasing by 16% (£2.6bn) (Figure 14).
Figure 14: Sales and purchases by size (£bn), 2021-2022
Description of Figure 14: A clustered bar chart showing sales from 2021 to 2022 slightly decreasing and purchases from 2021 to 2022 decreasing, both changes driven mainly by large businesses.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Comparability of sales and purchases by sector
Consecutively, in 2021 and 2022, Welsh businesses in ‘Trade, Accommodation and Transport’ had the most sales with £57.2bn (38%) (r) in 2021 and £56.0bn (39%) in 2022. The largest decrease from 2021 to 2022 was in ’Business and Other Services’ decreasing by £8.7bn (24%) (Figure 15).
‘Manufacturing’ became the largest purchases sector, making up 39% (£23.4bn) of total purchases in 2022, overtaking ‘Trade, Accommodation and Transport’ which was the largest purchases sector in 2021, making up 41% (£39.0bn) (r) of total purchases (Figure 15).
Every sector, apart from ‘Primary Sector and Utilities’ had a decrease in its purchases between 2021 and 2022, which drove an overall decrease in total purchases. ‘Trade, Accommodation and Transport’ had the largest value decrease in purchases (£20.2bn, 52%) between 2021 and 2022.
Figure 15: Sales and purchases by sector (£bn), 2021-2022
Description of Figure 15: A clustered bar chart showing sales from 2021 to 2022 slightly decreasing driven mainly by ’Business and Other Services’, and purchases from 2021 to 2022 decreasing driven mainly by ‘Trade, Accommodation and Transport’.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government
Coherency to existing data sources
Comparability to existing international trade statistics
High level TSW findings are presented alongside Regional trade statistics (RTS) (HMRC) for transparency. At the time of publication, 2022 data for the International trade in UK nations, regions and cities (ONS) is unavailable and so services are not able to be compared, as HMRC only produce estimates for goods. HMRC do not provide a breakdown by business size or sector. The following comparisons should be treated with caution due to methodological differences and conceptual approaches as noted in the QMI report. TSW is likely to underestimate the total imports compared to HMRC, because TSW only collects business purchases and excludes direct-to-consumer purchases whereas HMRC captures all taxable imports.
TSW international export value estimates compared against HMRC
TSW estimates Wales’ goods exports for 2022 to be £21.7bn with 47% (£10.2bn) going to the EU and 53% (£11.5bn) going to Non-EU countries. Comparatively, HMRC estimates Wales’ goods exports for 2022 to be £20.5bn, with 56% (£11.6bn) exported to the EU and 44% (£8.9bn) to Non-EU countries (Figure 16).
TSW international import value estimates compared against HMRC
TSW estimates Wales’ goods imports for 2022 to be £8.4bn, with 48% (£4.1bn) coming from the EU and 52% (£4.4bn) coming from Non-EU countries. Comparatively, HMRC estimates Wales’ goods imports to be £24.1bn, with 33% (£8.1bn) imported from the EU and 67% (£16.0bn) from Non-EU countries (Figure 16).
Figure 16: TSW goods exports and imports split by broad region compared against HMRC (£bn), 2022
Description of Figure 16: A clustered bar chart comparing HMRC and TSW estimates for 2022, showing that TSW exports was £1.2bn more than the HMRC exports estimate and that TSW imports was £15.7bn less than the HMRC imports estimate.
Source: Trade Survey for Wales 2022, Welsh Government; Regional Trade Statistics, HMRC
Other questions
Sales of environmental goods or services
The Trade Survey for Wales asked a question to help understand the extent to which businesses in Wales made sales of environmental goods or services. [footnote 4] The provisional 2022 estimates show:
- Among those that made sales of goods, only 8% of businesses in Wales made sales of environmental goods, most of which were made within the UK.
- Among those that made sales of services, only 7% of businesses in Wales made sales of environmental services, most of which were made within the UK.
Businesses in Wales majority-led by women
The Trade Survey for Wales asked a question to help understand the extent to which businesses in Wales were majority-led by women [footnote 5]. Among those that made sales of goods or services, the provisional 2022 estimates show:
- 18% of businesses in Wales were majority-led by women, of which 8% exported to the EU and 6% exported to Non-EU countries.
- 74% were not majority-led by women, of which 11% exported to the EU and 8% exported to Non-EU countries.
- 1% of businesses didn’t know if they were majority-led by women, 4% preferred not to say and 4% did not answer.
Further research would be needed to understand how other factors such as size and sector impact these results.
Quality and methodology information
These are ‘official statistics in development’ as the method employed is still in development, and there are some known data quality issues. The QMI report provides further detail of key quality and methodology information. Our statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics produced by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is included in the QMI report, providing details of how we comply with standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016 but this release does not include national indicators.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Wellbeing of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.
Footnotes
[1] ‘Official statistics in development’ were formerly known ‘experimental statistics’.
[2] See the quality and methodology information for what is included in each sector.
[3] The proportion is based off the total for all products recorded in the top 5 products question and not the total goods and services UK sales value.
[4] This includes goods or services that, for example, help to minimise or treat pollution, repair damage to the natural environment or measure and monitor environmental protection or resource management. See Eurostat’s full definition of what is included in the environmental goods or services (Eurostat) classification.
[5] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) research suggests that there exists a “gender export gap” in the sense that businesses led by women are less likely to export to foreign markets than those led by men. For data analysis purposes Welsh Government asked if a business was majority-led by women. That is, controlled by a single woman or has a management team of which a majority are women.