Welsh international goods trade: January to December 2024 (headline data)

The data in this report are provisional estimates for January to December 2024 with data revisions going back to Q1 2024. 2024 data will be revised routinely over the next 18 months to account for late returns. A more detailed analysis of 2024 data will be added here in April 2025.

Data covers the value (in current prices) of goods exports and imports.

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.

Exports

• The value of goods exports for Wales was £16.5 billion in the year ending December 2024, down £2.9 billion (15.1%) compared to the year ending December 2023. This was largely driven by a £2.0 billion decline in the value of ‘Oil’ (SITC33) exports.  
• In the year ending December 2024, all UK countries experienced a decrease in the value of exports, except for Northern Ireland which increased.  
• The value of goods exports less ‘Oil’ (SITC 33) for Wales was £15.2 billion in the year ending December 2024, a decrease of £1.0 billion [r] (5.9%) when compared to the year ending December 2023.  
• In the year ending December 2024, export values to EU countries decreased by £1.5 billion (13.4%) to £10.0 billion, while export values to non-EU countries decreased by £1.4 billion (17.6%) to £6.5 billion, compared to the year ending December 2023.  
• The EU accounted for 60.5% of Welsh export values compared with 49.8% for the UK as a whole.  
• Export values from Wales continue to be dominated by ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’^{[footnote 1]} which made up £7.9 billion (47.6%), a decrease of £0.4 billion (5.1%) compared to the year ending December 2023. ‘Manufactured Goods’ was the second highest value exported product category, worth £2.6 billion, making up 15.5% of export values.
  • ‘Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ was the largest value product within the ‘Machinery and transport Equipment’ category worth £2.6 billion (15.9%) of Welsh exports. This is a decrease of £0.6 billion (17.4%) compared with the year ending December 2023.
  • Within the Manufactured Goods category, ‘Iron and Steel’ (SITC 67) was the largest value product worth £1.0 billion (6.2%) of Welsh exports. This is a decrease of £0.1 billion (8.6%) compared with the year ending December 2023. 

Imports

• The value of goods imports for Wales was £20.7 billion in the year ending December 2024, down £0.5 billion (2.5%) compared to the year ending December 2023.
• In the year ending December 2024, all UK countries experienced a decrease in the value of imports, except for Northern Ireland which increased.
• The value of goods imports less ‘Oil’ (SITC 33) for Wales was £15.1 billion in the year ending December 2024, a decrease of £0.2 billion (1.6%) when compared to the year ending December 2023.
• In the year ending December 2024, there was an increase in import values of goods from EU countries of £0.1 billion (0.7%) up to £7.7 billion and a decrease in import values of goods from non-EU countries of £0.6 billion (4.3%) down to £13.0 billion, compared to the year ending December 2023.
• The EU accounted for 37.2% of Welsh import values compared with 53.8% for the UK as a whole.
• ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’ remained the largest import value category at £7.9 billion, accounting for 38.3% of total import values, an increase of £0.1 billion (1.4%) compared to the year ending December 2023. ‘Mineral Fuels’ continue to be the second highest value imported product category, worth £6.0 billion, making up 29.0% of total imports.
  • Power Generating Machinery and Equipment’ was the largest value product within the ‘Machinery and transport Equipment category’ worth £3.2 billion (15.6%) of Welsh imports. This is a value increase of £0.1 billion (1.8%) compared with the year ending December 2023
  • Within the ‘Mineral Fuels’ category, ‘Petroleum, Petroleum Products and Related Materials’ (SITC 33) was the highest value product worth £5.6 billion (27.2%) of Welsh imports. This is a value decrease of £0.3 billion (4.9%) compared with the year ending December 2023.

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 on these statistics.

This report includes scheduled revisions for previously published 2024 data.

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 UK Trade Info.

[r] A text correction was made on 20 March to the £ annual decrease.

The data above relates to international goods trade. For international trade in services, the latest experimental statistics (2022) produced by the Office for National Statistics suggest that service exports make up approximately 30% of total exports from Wales, and 20% of total imports.

Main results are published quarterly and are available on HMRC’s UK Trade Info Pages and our own interactive dashboard. 

[1] This includes Power Generating Machinery and Equipment, Machinery Specialized For Particular Industries, Metalworking Machinery, General Industrial Machinery and Equipment and Machine Parts not Elsewhere Specified, Office Machines and ADP Machines, Telecomms and Sound Recording and Reproducing Apparatus and Equipment, Electric Machinery, Apparatus and Appliances and Electric Parts Thereof not Elsewhere Specified, Road Vehicles (Including Air Cushion Vehicles), Other Transport Equipment.

Statistician: Cerys Ponting
Email: stats.trade@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099