Welsh international goods trade: 2024
Data on Welsh goods trade to destinations outside the UK for 2024.
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In this page
Introduction
The provisional data in this bulletin summarises HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimates of goods trade flows exported and imported between Wales and partner countries in 2024. This bulletin expands on the quarterly figures presented in the Welsh international goods trade: January to December 2024 headline, along with added detail on the volume of goods trade in the same period. More detailed analysis is available via our international goods trade dashboard and UK Trade Info.
Please note that trade in goods values are in current prices. Figures are not adjusted for inflation or global economic events, so please take caution when making comparisons with historic data.
This bulletin analyses trade in goods data, but trade in services data is published separately in International trade in UK nations, regions and cities: 2022 (Office for National Statistics (ONS)).
2024 data is provisional, and 2023 data has been revised since last year’s publication. HMRC have published minor corrections to the UK overseas trade in goods statistics in January 2025, which caused revisions in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 data published in the UK Regional Trade in Goods Statistics (UK Trade Info) in September 2024.
Main findings
Exports
- The value of goods exports for Wales was £16.5 billion in 2024, a decrease of £2.9 billion (15.1%) when compared to 2023. This was largely driven by a £2.0 billion decline in the value of ‘Oil’[footnote 1] exports. (Figure 1)
- The value of UK goods exports was £348.4 billion, a decrease of £20.8 billion (5.6%) compared to 2023.
- The value of goods exports less ‘Oil’[footnote 1] (Standard International Trade Classification or SITC 33) for Wales was £15.2 billion in 2024, a decrease of £1.0 billion (5.9%) when compared to 2023.
- Compared to 2023, export values from Wales to EU countries fell to £10.0 billion decreasing by £1.5 billion (13.4%) and export values to non-EU countries also decreased by £1.4 billion (17.6%) to £6.5 billion.
- Export values to the EU accounted for 60.5% of Welsh exports, compared with 49.8% of UK exports.
- The volume of goods exports for Wales was 5.9 billion kg a decrease of 2.1 billion kg (26.4%) compared to 2023.
Imports
- The value of goods imports for Wales was £20.7 billion in 2024, a decrease of £0.5 billion (2.5%) compared to 2023. (Figure 1)
- The value of UK goods imports was £577.2 billion, a decrease of £20.7 billion (3.5%) compared to 2023.
- The value of goods imports less ‘Oil’ [footnote 1] for Wales was £15.1 billion in 2024, a decrease of £0.2 billion (1.6%) when compared to 2023 (Figure 1).
- Compared to 2023, import values from EU countries to Wales stayed broadly similar at £7.7 billion, with a slight increase of £0.1 billion (0.7%), whilst import values from non-EU countries decreased by £0.6 billion (4.3%) down to £13.0 billion.
- Import values from the EU accounted for 37.2% of Welsh imports, compared with 53.8% of UK imports.
- The volume of goods imports for Wales was 16.7 billion kg; a decrease of 1.9 billion kg (10.0%) compared to 2023.
Data considerations
It is important to consider the impact of global economic events on the value of trade as well as inflationary pressures pushing up current prices of products. Petroleum is thought to be particularly affected.
Given the highly aggregated nature of trade data available at the all-Wales level it is difficult to unpick the relationships between trade volumes and values of trade in goods over time, however this bulletin illustrates examples including and excluding the values of trade in ‘Oil’, with occasional reference to the volume of trade to illustrate the significant role that this commodity can play in Wales’ trade performance.
Goods trade values
Figure 1: Wales’ total goods trade value and total goods trade value excluding 'Oil', 2014 to 2024 (£ billions) [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 1: A line chart showing total trade values fell sharply at the start of 2020 due to the pandemic. Increases in recent years have seen export and import values exceed their pre-pandemic levels in 2022; however, the export values have seen a decline in recent years.
Source: Regional Trade in Goods Statistics (RTS), HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
[Note 2]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
Export values
The value of goods exports for Wales was £16.5 billion in 2024, a decrease of £2.9 billion (15.1%) when compared to 2023 (Table 1). UK goods exports decreased by 5.6% compared to 2023 (Table 2).
The value of goods exports less ‘Oil’ (SITC 33) was £15.2 billion in 2024, a decrease of £1.0 billion (5.9%) when compared to 2023.
| Destination | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 11.5 | 10 | -13.4 |
| Non-EU | 7.9 | 6.5 | -17.6 |
| Total | 19.5 (r) | 16.5 | -15.1 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
(r) 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
| Destination | 2023 (r) | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 187.9 | 173.5 | -7.6 |
| Non-EU | 181.4 | 174.9 | -3.5 |
| Total | 369.2 | 348.4 | -5.6 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
(r) 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Export values by broad destination (EU and non-EU)
The overall decrease in Welsh goods exports was driven equally by the decrease to the value of goods to both EU and Non-EU countries. The value of goods exports for Wales to EU countries was£10.0 billion, a decrease of £1.5 billion (13.4%) when compared to 2023. The value of goods exports for Wales to non-EU countries was £6.5 billion, a decrease of £1.4 billion (17.6%) when compared to 2023 (Table 1).
Figure 2: Goods exports by year and broad destination in value, Wales (£ billions) [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 2: A line chart showing that from 2014 Wales has consistently exported a greater value of goods to EU than non-EU countries.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
[Note 2]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
The proportion of Welsh export values to the EU accounted for 60.5% in 2024, an increase from 59.3% in 2023.
For the UK as a whole, the EU accounted for 49.8% of UK export values, a decrease from 50.9% in 2023 (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Goods value exports by proportion to EU from Wales and UK (£ billions) [Note 1] [Note 2] [Note 3]
Description of Figure 3: A line chart showing that from 2014 the proportion of the value of goods exported to the EU has been broadly consistent for both UK and Wales to 2021. But in recent years Wales' proportion dipped in 2022 before increasing to 2024. The opposite is true for UK exports.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
[Note 2]: The y-axis does not start at 0.
[Note 3]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
Export values by destination (country)
In 2024, Germany overtook the United States to become the highest value market for Welsh products, accounting for £2.7 billion (16.3%) of exports (Figure 4). This proportion is up from 14.0% in 2023. The United States fell to the second largest export values market, accounting for £2.2 billion (13.5%), followed by Ireland, accounting for £1.8 billion (10.9%). Overall, the export value to the top 3 countries has decreased when compared to 2023.
Excluding ‘Oil’ (SITC 33), Germany remained the highest value market for exporting Welsh products, accounting for £2.7 billion (17.7%) of exports, remaining broadly similar to 2023.
Compared to 2023, goods export values increased the most to Malaysia, increasing by £0.1 billion (109.1%). The majority of this increase was due to an 11-fold increase in ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ (SITC71) from £6.7 million to £73.9 million.
Compared to 2023, goods export values decreased the most to Ireland with a decrease of £0.7 billion (29.3%). The decrease in export value to Ireland was driven by exports of ‘Oil’ which decreased by £0.7 billion (45.4%).
More detailed analysis can be found on our trade data visualisation interactive tool.
Figure 4: Top 5 destinations for Welsh goods exports in value, 2021 to 2024 (£ billions) [Note 1]
Description of Figure 4: A clustered bar chart showing Germany was the top exports destination for Wales in 2024, with export values decreasing from 2023.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Export values of top products
In 2024, the top product category exported by value from Wales was ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ (SITC 71), followed by ‘Other Transport Equipment’ (SITC 79), ‘Oil’ (SITC 33), ‘Iron and Steel’ (SITC 67), and’ Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Products’ (SITC 54). The top 4 products were the same as 2023 but with a different order. ‘Oil’ dropped from first to third, whilst ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ and ‘Other Transport Equipment’ shifted up one rank to first and second respectively. ‘Electric Machinery, Apparatus and Appliances and Electric Parts Thereof not Elsewhere Specified’ (SITC 77) was fifth highest in 2023, moving to sixth highest in 2024; effectively swapping places with ‘Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Products’.
‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ made up £2.6 billion (15.9%) of total goods export values, ‘Other Transport Equipment’ made up £2.6 billion (15.8%), ‘Oil’ made up £1.3 billion (8.1%), ‘Iron and Steel’ made up £1.0 billion (6.2%) and ‘Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Products’ made up £0.8 billion (4.9%) (Figure 5).
Compared to 2023, ‘Other Transport Equipment’ was the only top 5 product category to see an increase, increasing by £0.4 billion (17.8%). ‘Oil’ has seen the largest decrease in export values, decreasing by £2.0 billion (59.7%) since 2023.
More detailed analysis can be found on our trade data visualisation interactive tool.
Figure 5: Top 5 products for Welsh goods exports in value, 2021 to 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 5: A clustered bar chart showing that 'Power Generating Machinery and Equipment' was the top export product category in 2024.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Import values
The value of goods imports for Wales was £20.7 billion in 2024, a decrease of £0.5 billion (2.5%) when compared to 2023. UK goods imports decreased by 3.5% compared to 2023.
The value of goods imports less ‘Oil’ (SITC 33) for Wales was £15.1 billion in 2024, a decrease of £0.2 billion (1.6%) when compared to 2023.
| Origin | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 7.7 | 7.7 | 0.7 |
| Non-EU | 13.6 | 13.0 | -4.3 |
| Total | 21.3 | 20.7 | -2.5 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
| Origin | 2023 (r) | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 320.2 | 310.3 | -3.1 |
| Non-EU | 277.6 | 266.9 | -3.9 |
| Total | 597.8 | 577.2 | -3.5 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
(r) 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Import values by broad origin (EU and non-EU)
Import values from the EU accounted for 37.2% of Welsh imports, compared with 53.8% of UK imports.
The value of goods imports for Wales from EU countries stayed broadly similar at £7.7 billion, an increase of £0.1 billion (0.7%) when compared to 2023 (Figure 6).
The value of goods imports for Wales from non-EU countries was £13.0 billion, a decrease of £0.6 billion (4.3%) when compared to 2023 (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Goods imports values by year and origin, Wales (£bn) [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 6: A line chart showing that, from 2014, Wales has consistently imported a greater value of goods from non-EU countries than the EU.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
[Note 2]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
Import values by origin (country)
In 2024, the United States remained the largest import values market for Wales, accounting for £4.2 billion (20.3%) of imports (Figure 7). This proportion was up from 17.4% in 2023. The value of US imports increased by £0.5 billion (14.1%). China was the second largest import values market, accounting for £1.7 billion (8.2%) then Netherlands with £1.4 billion (6.8%).
Excluding ‘Oil’ (SITC 33), the United States remained the highest values market for importing Welsh products, accounting for £2.4 billion (15.9%) of imports, up from £2.1 billion (13.5%) in 2024.
Compared to 2023, goods import values increased the most from the United States, increasing by £0.5 billion (14.1%), driven by an increase of £0.3 billion (28.3%) in ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ (SITC 71) and an increase of £0.2 billion (12.6%) in ‘Oil’ (SITC 33).
Compared to 2023, goods import values decreased the most from Nigeria with a decrease of £0.5 billion (79.4%), driven by a decrease of £0.5 billion (79.5%) of ‘Oil’ (SITC 33).
More detailed analysis can be found on our trade data visualisation interactive tool.
Figure 7: Top 5 origins for Wales' goods imports value, 2021 to 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 7: A clustered bar chart showing that in 2024 the United States remained Wales' largest source of import values.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Import values of top products
In 2024, the top product category imported to Wales was ‘Oil’ (SITC 33), followed by ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ (SITC 71), ‘Other Transport Equipment’ (SITC 79), ‘Electric Machinery, Apparatus and Appliances and Electric Parts Thereof not Elsewhere Specified’ (SITC 77) and ‘Road Vehicles (Including Air Cushion Vehicles)’ (SITC 78). The top 5 in 2024 was the same as 2023 but with a different order. ‘Other Transport Equipment’ moved from fifth to third, which shifted ‘Electric Machinery, Apparatus and Appliances and Electric Parts Thereof not Elsewhere Specified’ (SITC 77) and ‘Road Vehicles (Including Air Cushion Vehicles)’ (SITC 78) down one rank to fourth and fifth respectively.
‘Oil’ made up £5.6 billion (27.2%) of total goods imports, ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ made up £3.2 billion (15.6%), ‘Other Transport Equipment’ made up £1.2 billion (5.9%), ‘Electric Machinery, Apparatus and Appliances and Electric Parts Thereof not Elsewhere Specified’ made up £1.1 billion (5.1%) and ‘Road Vehicles (Including Air Cushion Vehicles)’ made up £0.9 billion (4.6%) (Figure 8).
Compared to 2023, ‘Other Transport Equipment’ was the only top 5 product category to see an increase, increasing by £0.4 billion (56.7%). ‘Oil’ has seen the largest decrease in import values, decreasing by £0.3 billion (4.9%) since 2023.
More detailed analysis can be found on our trade data visualisation interactive tool.
Figure 8: Top 5 products for Welsh goods imports value, 2021 to 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 8: A clustered bar chart showing that ‘Petroleum, Petroleum Products and Related Materials’ remained the top import category in 2024, but the value fell from the 2023 value.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional. 2023 data was revised on 11 December 2024 and differs from the previously published Welsh international goods trade: 2023.
Goods trade volumes
Figure 9: Wales’ total goods trade volume, 2014 to 2024 (billion kg) [Note 1]
Description of Figure 9: A line chart showing import volumes declining steadily over the years. The export volumes have been broadly similar but have seen a decline since 2022.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
Export volumes
The volume of goods exports for Wales was 5.9 billion (kg) in 2024, a decrease of 2.1 billion (kg) (26.4%) when compared to 2023 (Table 5). UK goods export volumes decreased by 9.4% compared to 2023 (Table 6).
‘Oil’ (SITC 33) made up 37.4% of all export volumes for Wales and 37.5% of all UK export volumes in 2024.
| Destination | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 5.2 | 3.8 | -25.7 |
| Non-EU | 2.8 | 2.0 | -27.5 |
| Total | 8.0 | 5.9 | -26.4 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
| Destination | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 97.3 | 84.6 | -13.0 |
| Non-EU | 33.4 | 33.9 | 1.3 |
| Total | 130.7 | 118.5 | -9.4 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
Export volumes by broad destination (EU and non-EU)
The overall decrease in Welsh export volumes was driven by decreases to both EU and Non-EU countries. The volume of goods exports for Wales to EU countries was 3.8 billion kg, which decreased 1.3 billion kg (25.7%) when compared to 2023. The volume of goods exports for Wales to non-EU countries was 2.0 billion kg, a decrease of 0.8 billion kg (27.5%) when compared to 2023 (Table 1).
Figure 10: Goods exports volume by year and broad destination, Wales (billion kg) [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 10: A line chart showing that from 2014 Wales has consistently exported a greater volume of goods to EU than non-EU countries.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
[Note 2]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
The proportion of Welsh export volumes to the EU accounted for 65.6% in 2024, an increase from 65.0% in 2023.
The EU accounted for 71.4% of UK export volumes, a decrease from 74.4% in 2023.
Import volumes
The volume of goods imports for Wales was 16.7 billion kg in 2024, a decrease of 1.9 billion kg (10.0%) when compared to 2023 (Table 7). UK goods import volumes increased by 1.3% compared to 2023 (Table 8).
‘Oil’ (SITC 33) made up 61.6% of all import volumes for Wales and 31.6% of all UK import volumes in 2024.
| Orgin | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 3.2 | 3.5 | 11.7 |
| Non-EU | 15.4 | 13.2 | -14.5 |
| Total | 18.5 | 16.7 | -10.0 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
| Origin | 2023 | 2024 | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | 101.1 | 105.9 | 4.8 |
| Non-EU | 165.4 | 164.1 | -0.8 |
| Total | 266.5 | 270.0 | 1.3 |
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: 2024 data is provisional.
Import volumes by broad origin (EU and non-EU)
Import volumes from the EU accounted for 21.1% of Welsh imports, compared with 39.2% of UK imports.
The volume of goods imports for Wales from EU countries was 3.5 billion kg, an increase of 0.4 billion kg (11.7%) when compared to 2023 (Figure 11). This is driven by an increase of 0.3 billion kg (26.6%) from the Netherlands.
Figure 11: Goods imports volume by year and origin, Wales (billion kg) [Note 1]
Description of Figure 11: A line chart showing that from 2014 Wales has consistently imported a greater volume of goods from non-EU countries than the EU.
Source: RTS, HMRC
[Note 1]: The vertical dotted lines on the graph mark the EU exit deadlines in 2019Q3 and 2020Q1, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020Q2 and end of the EU exit transition period in 2021Q1.
Quality and methodology information
Relevance
The provisional data in this bulletin summarises HMRC RTS for Wales in 2023, providing comparisons with the UK.
This bulletin contains data from 2013 onwards, focusing on the latest two years of data for comparisons purposes. These statistics are used by the Welsh Government to monitor the performance in goods trade for Wales, as well as providing comparisons to the UK and other regions. This bulletin is also used by other public sector organisations, businesses, academia, and private individuals.
Accuracy
The data in this bulletin are the RTS published by HMRC. These statistics refer to goods that have crossed the UK frontier. This means that exports from Wales to other parts of the UK are not included and there is no element included for components produced in Wales when the final product is completed in and then exported from another part of the UK. HMRC does not receive information in respect of goods that move wholly within the UK. Further, these figures do not contain any information on trade in services such as banking or tourism.
Timeliness and punctuality
RTS are published quarterly by HMRC in March, June, September, and December. Headline international trade statistics are published by the Welsh Government at the same time. This bulletin is published in April following the release of the last quarter of the calendar year (year ending December), which is published in March.
Accessibility and clarity
The headline statistics, statistical bulletin and international goods trade: interactive dashboard are available on the Welsh Government website. The latest HMRC quarterly RTS release is available from the HMRC website.
Following a period of consultation, we no longer update the StatsWales Export Tables.
Comparability and coherence
Comparable measures using RTS data for other UK countries are available on the International goods trade: interactive dashboard and at the HMRC RTS webpage. Business counts data is also available from HMRC.
Data shown for the European Union (EU) are based on the 27 member states which comprise the EU.
The quarterly totals of the value for RTS do not equate to the totals already published as the UK-wide Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS). Certain goods, such as North Sea crude oil, ships, and aircraft stores, and those not in free circulation, that are shipped to EU countries using traditional Customs declarations, are not allocated to a UK region. Exports relating to overseas companies, registered for VAT in the UK, but with no place of business in the UK, have been excluded. Channel Islands and Isle of Man trade is also excluded. In addition, some exports to countries outside the EU cannot be allocated to a region because the VAT registration numbers have not been properly declared. These exclusions mean that it is not possible to reconcile total figures for regional trade against figures for UK trade.
Data are collated using the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) system.
The Government Analysis Function produce a user guide to regional trade, which may be helpful to users when considering other sources of trade data.
We produce experimental statistics on international trade in goods and services from businesses in Wales. The Trade Survey for Wales is an online voluntary survey, which captures information directly from businesses with operations in Wales to measure trade flows (in terms of sales and purchases of goods and services) to and from Wales.
The ONS produce estimated value of exports and imports of goods and services in their International trade in UK nations, regions and cities (ONS) release.
Methodology
As a result of the free movement of goods and services between the UK and the European Union (EU) ending, HMRC revised the methodology used to calculate Regional Trade in Goods Statistics. From the 1 January 2021, the data source for EU export statistics changed from the Intrastat statistical survey, a monthly aggregate return, to customs export declarations. The declaration requirements are more complex than the Intrastat return and can result in differences between dates of declaration and actual movement of the goods. Users should note the break in the time series when making comparisons to previous quarters/years. Further information on the quality, revisions and methodology (HMRC) of the data can be found on the HMRC website.
Because of changes to the way in which the data is collected, additional low value trade that was previously allocated to countries and regions may now be reported under the ‘Unallocated-unknown’ category. This has led to a likely reduction in the UK to EU export values, and total export values for Wales (and other regions) from January 2021 onwards. More detailed notes of these effects can be read in the HMRC full commentary (UK Trade Info) on these statistics. Some of the exports data included in this report may get revised by HMRC as part of their routine revisions to the data set. The latest data will be available on the UK Trade Info website.
Revisions
The RTS third quarter (October to December) 2024 publication included corrections to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 data (UK Trade Info) as unscheduled corrections to the UK's overseas trade in goods statistics (OTS) announced on 11th October 2024.
The 2024 data is provisional. Revisions to the data arise due to trade amendments and late submissions received by HMRC . Figures are provisional for up to 18 months.
For data from our own outputs, we follow Welsh Government revisions policy.
Volume data errors for 2024 data
During the final checks of the RTS production process for the fourth quarter 2024, errors were identified in the 2024 volume (kg) data for UK exports. These errors are in the SITC 74 (General Industrial Machinery) and SITC 77 (Electrical Machinery & Appliances). HMRC are currently investigating the nature of these errors. Any corrections will be made after their review. Please exercise caution when using or sharing this data.
Official statistics status
All official statistics should show the standards of the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistics Authority).
These are accredited official statistics. They were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2012. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.
It is Welsh Government’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of accreditation. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) promptly. Accreditation can be cancelled or suspended at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.
These accredited official statistics (UK Statistics Authority) demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value in the following ways.
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.
Trustworthiness
The data is collected by HMRC based on Customs declarations submitted by businesses. The bulletin has been produced by statisticians who work under the supervision of the Welsh Government Chief Statistician to ensure that the statistics, data and explanatory material is presented impartially and objectively.
Quality
The published figures provided are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset. Statistics published by Welsh Government adhere to the Statistical Quality Management Strategy which supplements the Quality pillar of the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistics Authority) and the European Statistical System principles of quality for statistical outputs.
Validation checks take place on the OTS (HMRC), which RTS is based on, including autocorrections for obsolete or partially invalid commodity / port codes, missing quantities and inconsistencies between port and mode of transport. Credibility checks carried out include checking data against parameters (what would be considered a normal range) for each commodity code and flagging outliers for further investigation.
See revisions above for quality issues.
Value
The purpose of the statistical release is to provide evidence for policy development and to inform the wider public about international trade in goods for Wales. The analysis will be used to inform Ministerial advice and decision making in the wider policy context. For further information, see the Trade policy: the Welsh Government approach, the International trade policy and the International strategy for Wales.
See timeliness and punctuality above for further information.
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.
Feedback
We continue to review our analysis and publication of HMRC RTS, aiming to streamline the trade data available. We engage with users to make sure we continue to meet their needs. If you would like to take part in a review or provide any feedback, please email stats.trade@gov.wales.
