Welsh international goods trade: July 2020 to June 2021

The data in this report are HMRC provisional estimates for July 2020 to June 2021 and will be revised routinely over the next 18 months to account for late returns.

The data covers the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the first 2 quarters of trade following EU Exit. Data covers exports and imports of goods.

From 31 December 2020, the way HMRC collects trade in goods data changed, resulting in a break in the time series for published UK to EU trade statistics from January 2021, therefore historic comparisons should be treated with caution (see Note).

April to June 2021 (provisional)

Short term quarterly changes can be volatile, the provisional data are presented here given the interest in EU Exit impacts on trade since January 2021. COVID-19 restrictions and lower demand due to the global economic downturn will also have had significant impacts on trade during this time.

Exports

• Between April to June 2021, the value of goods exports in Wales was estimated at £3.6 billion.
• In Wales, EU exports increased by 17.4% and Non EU exports increased by 11.5% compared to the previous quarter. Over the same period, the increase across the UK for EU exports was 18.1% and Non EU exports increased by 2.9%.
• All four nations saw increases in exports compared to the previous quarter. Wales saw the largest increase of 15.1%, followed by England 10.1%, Northern Ireland 9.6% and Scotland 3.7%.

Imports

• Between April to June 2021, the value of goods imports to Wales was estimated at £3.7 billion.
• In Wales EU imports increased by 3.4% and Non EU imports increased by 6.3% compared to the previous quarter. Over the same period, the increase across the UK for EU imports was 4.4% and Non EU imports increased by 9.6%.
• Three nations saw increases in imports compared to the previous quarter. Northern Ireland saw the largest increase of 23.6%, followed by England 8.4%, Wales 5.1%. Scotland saw a decrease of 1.4%.

Year ending June 2021

Exports

• The value of goods exports for Wales was £13.5 billion in the year ending June 2021, down £2.0 billion (13.1%) compared to the year ending June 2020.
• There was a decrease in exports to EU countries of £1.1 billion (11.9%) and a decrease in exports to non-EU countries of £0.9 billion (14.8%), compared with the previous year.
• Exports to the EU accounted for 60.2% of Welsh exports compared with 48.8% for the UK.
• Exports from Wales continued to be dominated by ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’, which made up 44.1% of exports.

Imports

• The value of goods imports for Wales was £14.4 billion in the year ending June 2021, down £1.7 billion (10.5%) compared to the year ending June 2020.
• There was an increase in imports from EU countries of £0.2 billion (2.8%) and a decrease in imports from non-EU countries of £1.8 billion (18.3%), compared with the previous year.
• Imports from the EU accounted for 42.5% of Welsh imports compared with 51.0% for the UK.
• Imports to Wales continue to be dominated by ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’, which made up 35.7% of imports.

Note

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.

Further information

The data above relates to international goods trade. Experimental statistics produced by the Office for National statistics suggest that service exports make up approximately 30% of total exports in Wales.

Main results are published quarterly, StatsWales will be updated with these figures.

Welsh Government statisticians are reviewing its analysis and publication of HMRC trade data including the contents of the annual goods trade bulletin. If you would like to be like to be involved in a review, or provide any feedback on any aspect of these statistics, please email stats.trade@gov.wales.