Weaker foreign trade

During the first six months of 2012 Swedish exports remained the same as for the same period of the previous year. At the same time imports decreased 2 percent.

The value of Swedish exports amounted to SEK 607 billion during January-June 2012. As a result exports remained the same in percentage compared to the first six months of 2011. Imports decreased by 2 percent and amounted to SEK 563 billion. This results in a net trade surplus of SEK 44 billion. The net trade surplus for the same period in 2011 was SEK 36 billion.

Sweden’s foreign trade was somewhat weaker during the second quarter compared to the same period in 2011. During the second quarter exports decreased by 1 percent and imports by 4 percent. This can be compared to an unchanged level for both exports and imports during the first quarter.

Detailed information for January-June 2012:

Imports from Germany decreased 6 percent

Sweden's exports to the EU-27 remained the same while imports from there decreased 3 percent. Exports to the euro countries fell by 2 percent and imports from those countries by 6 percent. Among EU countries, exports increased to Germany by 1 percent, to the UK 8 percent and to Denmark 5 percent. Imports from Germany decreased by 6 percent while imports from the UK and Denmark increased by 12 and 1 percent respectively.

Exports to and imports from other European countries both increased by 3 percent. Exports to Norway increased by 8 percent while imports from there remained the same. Exports to Russia decreased by 13 percent while imports from there increased 8 percent.

Exports to Asia decreased by 5 percent while imports from that region remained the same. Exports to China increased by 1 percent and imports from there by 3 percent.

Exports to the US fell by 4 percent while imports from there rose by 6 percent.

Export and imports by regions

	Exports				Imports
Region	Value January-June		Share in %	Change in %	Value January-June		Share in %	Change in %
	2012	2011	2012	2012/2011	2012	2011	2012	2012/2011
Total	607 052	610 096	100.0	0	563 088	573 734	100.0	-2
Europe	438 116	433 702	72.2	1	478 343	488 309	84.9	-2
EU-27	345 481	344 142	56.9	0	383 382	395 707	68.1	-3
EMU-17	230 127	233 981	37.9	-2	265 312	281 946	47.1	-6
Other European countries	92 635	89 560	15.3	3	94 961	92 601	16.9	3
Africa	19 509	21 605	3.2	-10	2 357	3 884	0.4	-39
North Africa	8 034	7 955	1.3	1	412	1 534	0.1	-73
West Africa	3 313	4 531	0.5	-27	46	185	0.0	-75
Central, East and Southern Africa	8 162	9 119	1.3	-10	1 899	2 166	0.3	-12
America	61 310	63 012	10.1	-3	28 591	27 675	5.1	3
North America	45 424	46 563	7.5	-2	20 816	19 523	3.7	7
Central and South America	15 886	16 449	2.6	-3	7 775	8 151	1.4	-5
Asia	73 222	77 355	12.1	-5	52 776	52 567	9.4	0
Middle- and Near East	15 267	16 579	2.5	-8	1 459	1 304	0.3	12
Other countries in Asia	57 955	60 776	9.5	-5	51 317	51 262	9.1	0
Oceania and Antarctica	7 930	9 068	1.3	-13	1 020	1 299	0.2	-21

Exports by important SITC commodity groups

	Exports
	Value January-June		Share in %	Change in %
Commodity group according to SITC	2012	2011	2012	2012/2011
Total	607 052	610 096	100.0	0
Wood and paper products	64 331	65 912	10.6	-2
Wood	12 961	12 840	2.1	1
Pulp and waste paper	8 930	10 047	1.5	-11
Paper, paperproducts	39 307	40 067	6.5	-2
Minerals	73 892	74 370	12.2	-1
Iron ore and concentrates	11 873	9 916	2.0	20
Iron and steel	33 551	37 625	5.5	-11
Non-ferrous metals	14 252	14 587	2.3	-2
Chemicals, rubber products	71 162	71 354	11.7	0
Organic/inorganic chemicals	9 109	8 086	1.5	13
Pharmaceuticals products	27 798	30 351	4.6	-8
Plastics	14 964	14 542	2.5	3
Mineral fuels, electric current	59 954	47 393	9.9	27
Petroleum products	53 309	42 200	8.8	26
Machinery, transport equipment	266 050	282 380	43.8	-6
Manufactures of metals	17 240	17 018	2.8	1
Industrial machinery	98 947	95 391	16.3	4
Electronics, telecommunication	69 875	81 611	11.5	-14
Road vehicles	63 301	67 334	10.4	-6
Passenger cars	21 820	22 533	3.6	-3
Lorries, trucks^[1]	11 816	13 769	1.9	-14
Parts, accessories	22 626	25 146	3.7	-10
Other transport equipment	3 364	7 863	0.6	-57
Instruments, photo/optical products	13 324	13 163	2.2	1
Other products	71 664	68 686	11.8	4
Food, beverages, tobacco	28 186	26 186	4.6	8
Textiles, clothing, footwear	11 029	10 569	1.8	4
Furniture	8 400	8 307	1.4	1

[1] Includes road tractors for semi-trailers

Imports by important SITC commodity groups

	Imports
	Value January-June		Share in %	Change in %
Commodity group according to SITC	2012	2011	2012	2012/2011
Total	563 088	573 734	100.0	-2
Wood and paper products	16 429	16 640	2.9	-1
Minerals	50 276	55 920	8.9	-10
Iron and steel	23 724	26 542	4.2	-11
Non-ferrous metals	10 331	12 542	1.8	-18
Metalliferrous ores, metal scrap	7 748	8 436	1.4	-8
Chemicals, rubber products	71 920	71 916	12.8	0
Organic/inorganic chemicals	18 503	19 305	3.3	-4
Pharmaceuticals products	15 043	14 983	2.7	0
Plastics	14 372	14 612	2.6	-2
Crude rubber, rubber products	7 947	7 458	1.4	7
Mineral fuels, electric current	89 144	82 225	15.8	8
Crude petroleum oils	58 205	46 585	10.3	25
Petroleum products	22 639	22 689	4.0	0
Machinery, transport equipment	228 228	240 028	40.5	-5
Manufactures of metals	16 177	15 545	2.9	4
Industrial machinery	60 030	60 068	10.7	0
Electronics, telecommunication	82 248	89 000	14.6	-8
Road vehicles	52 003	57 310	9.2	-9
Passenger cars	23 965	26 050	4.3	-8
Parts and accessories	18 569	20 565	3.3	-10
Other transport equipment	4 992	5 610	0.9	-11
Instruments, photo/optical equip	12 778	12 497	2.3	2
Other products	107 091	107 005	19.0	0
Food, beverages, tobacco	50 551	49 321	9.0	2
Textiles, clothing, footwear	23 797	24 394	4.2	-2
Furniture	7 849	8 125	1.4	-3