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Exports and imports of goods, January-September 2021/quarter 3 2021, in current prices and in constant prices

Stronger trade in goods in value than in volume in the third quarter

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2021-11-29 9.30

In the third quarter 2021, exports of goods increased by 17 percent in value and by 5 percent in volume compared with the same period a year ago. At the same time, imports of goods rose by 18 percent in value and by 8 percent in volume.

Summary

  • In the period January–September 2021, the value (in current prices) of Swedish exports of goods amounted to SEK 1 181 billion, an increase of 12 percent compared with the same period a year ago. At the same time, the value of imports of goods increased by 14 percent and amounted to SEK 1 151 billion.
  • In the period January–September 2021, exports of goods increased by 8 percent in volume (in constant prices), and imports of goods increased by 11 percent.
  • Net trade shows a surplus of SEK 30 billion in the period January–September 2021. In the same period in 2020, there was a net trade surplus of SEK 44 billion.
  • In the third quarter of 2021, Swedish exports of goods increased by 17 percent in value, and in terms of volume exports of goods increased by 5 percent, compared with the same period a year ago. Imports of goods increased by 18 percent in value, and in terms of volume they increased by 8 percent.
  • Compared with the previous quarter, Swedish exports of goods decreased by 5 percent in value and by 9 percent in volume. At the same time, imports of goods decreased by 2 percent in value and by 5 percent in volume.

Detailed information about January–September 2021 (current prices)

Exports of goods to the United Kingdom increased by 30 percent

Sweden’s exports of goods to EU27 increased by 16 percent, and imports from there increased by 15 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Exports to the euro countries rose by 15 percent, and imports from there increased by 14 percent. Among the EU countries, exports to Germany increased by 12 percent, to Denmark by 15 percent and to Finland by 13 percent. Imports from Germany increased by 10 percent, from Denmark by 17 percent and from Finland by 7 percent.

Exports to other European countries increased by 18 percent, and imports from there increased by 15 percent. Exports to the United Kingdom rose by 30 percent, while imports from there fell by 14 percent. During the period, exports of wood and petroleum products accounted for the largest increase to the United Kingdom. Imports of chemicals and rubber products accounted for the largest decrease from the United Kingdom. Exports to Norway increased by 13 percent, and imports from there increased by 24 percent. Exports to Russia rose by 21 percent, and imports from there rose by 30 percent. In the period, exports of machinery and transport equipment accounted for the largest increase to Russia. At the same time, imports of crude petroleum oils accounted for the largest increase from Russia.

Exports to Asia fell by 5 percent, while imports from there increased by 13 percent. Exports to China decreased by 19 percent, while imports from there increased by 16 percent. In the period, exports of pharmaceutical products accounted for the largest decrease to China, while imports of machinery and transport equipment accounted for the largest increase from there.

Exports to the United States increased by 12 percent, while imports from there decreased by 5 percent.

Exports of minerals increased by 27 percent

Exports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 11 percent. Within this product area, exports of road vehicles increased by 18 percent. Exports of minerals increased by 27 percent. Within this product area, exports of iron ore rose by 45 percent. Exports of wood and paper products increased by 15 percent, and mineral fuels and electric current increased by 59 percent. Exports of chemicals and rubber products fell by 2 percent. Within this product area, exports of pharmaceutical products decreased by 23 percent. Within the other products area, textiles/clothing/footwear increased by 7 percent.

Imports of crude petroleum oils increased by 50 percent

Imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 15 percent. Within this product area, imports of passenger cars rose by 20 percent. Imports of minerals increased by 34 percent. Imports of wood and paper products increased by 6 percent, and imports of chemicals and rubber products rose by 9 percent. Imports of mineral fuels and electric current increased by 34 percent. Within this product area, imports of crude petroleum oils rose by 50 percent. Imports of other products rose by 6 percent.

Detailed information about the third quarter 2021 (in current prices and in constant prices)

Exports of minerals increased by 44 percent in value and by 9 percent in volume

In the third quarter of 2021, Sweden’s exports of goods increased by 17 percent in value and by 5 percent in volume, compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

Exports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 4 percent in value and by 3 percent in volume. Within this product area, exports of passenger cars decreased by 16 percent in both value and volume. Exports of mineral fuels and electric current rose by 92 percent in value and by 12 percent in volume. The large difference between value and volume development is due to higher prices for oil products. Minerals increased by 44 percent in value and by 9 percent in volume. Chemical and rubber products rose by 21 percent in value and by 15 percent in volume. Within this product area, exports of plastics increased by 50 percent in value and by 24 percent in volume. Exports of wood and paper products rose by 31 percent in value, while they remained the same in volume. Within the other products area, exports of food/beverages/tobacco increased by 8 percent in value and by 1 percent in volume.

Imports of passenger cars decreased by 16 percent in value and by 18 percent in volume

In the third quarter of 2021, Sweden’s imports of goods increased by 18 percent in value and by 8 percent in volume compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

Imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 9 percent in value and by 8 percent in volume. Within this product area, imports of passenger cars fell by 16 percent in value and by 18 percent in volume. Imports of mineral fuels and electric current rose by 70 percent in value and by 3 percent in volume. Within this product area, imports of crude petroleum oils increased by 98 percent in value and by 24 percent in volume. The large difference between the value and volume development is due to higher crude oil prices. Imports of chemicals and rubber products rose by 18 percent in value and by 7 percent in volume. Within this product area, imports of plastics increased by 43 percent in value and by 14 percent in volume. Imports of wood and paper products increased by 19 percent in value and by 8 percent in volume. Minerals rose by 54 percent in value and by 18 percent in volume. Within the other products area, imports of food/beverages/tobacco increased by 8 percent in value and by 2 percent in volume.

Value and volume trends

The value index and the volume index describe nominal and real value trends over time. The real value trends describe trends in which price changes have been removed. The indices are chain indices with base year 2015=100.

Namnlös

The value index for exports of goods in the third quarter 2021 has decreased compared to the previous quarter, but is higher than the average for 2020. Export prices have increased slightly since the previous quarter. The volume index has decreased compared with the previous quarter, but increased compared with the volume index in the third quarter of 2020.

Namnlös

The value index for imports of goods decreased in the third quarter 2021 compared to the previous quarter, but is slightly higher than the value index of the third quarter of 2020. Import prices are slightly higher than in the previous quarter. The volume index has decreased compared with the previous quarter, but is slightly higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago.

  Exports Imports
  Value (current prices) Value (current prices)
Region January-September Share in % Change in % January-September Share in % Change in %
  2021 2020 2021 2021/2020 2021 2020 2021 2021/2020
Total 1 181 141 1 050 485 100.0 12 1 151 252 1 006 503 100.0 14
Europe 877 185 750 983 74.3 17 968 192 844 806 84.1 15
EU27_2020 633 758 545 125 53.7 16 772 308 674 498 67.1 15
EMU-19 473 472 412 413 40.1 15 600 157 527 134 52.1 14
EU28 701 318 596 923 59.4 17 809 877 718 030 70.3 13
Other European countries 243 427 205 858 20.6 18 195 884 170 308 17.0 15
Africa 19 532 19 632 1.7 ‑1 8 796 5 077 0.8 73
North Africa 9 828 10 427 0.8 ‑6 4 094 1 195 0.4 243
West Africa 2 220 2 490 0.2 ‑11 3 071 2 136 0.3 44
Central, East and Southern Africa 7 484 6 715 0.6 11 1 631 1 746 0.1 ‑7
America 129 764 117 993 11.0 10 44 721 40 420 3.9 11
North America 108 821 98 260 9.2 11 35 399 33 393 3.1 6
Central and South America 20 943 19 733 1.8 6 9 322 7 027 0.8 33
Asia 138 095 144 770 11.7 ‑5 127 221 112 925 11.1 13
Middle- and Near East 21 285 22 337 1.8 ‑5 3 008 4 431 0.3 ‑32
Other countries in Asia 116 810 122 433 9.9 ‑5 124 213 108 494 10.8 14
Oceania and Antarctica 11 913 13 892 1.0 ‑14 1 982 2 371 0.2 ‑16

  Exports
  Value (current prices) Value (current prices) Volume (value in constant prices) Value (current prices) Volume (value in constant prices)
      Share in % Change in % Change in % Change in % Change in %
Commodity group according to SITC January-September 2021 January-September 2020 January-September 2021 Q1-3 2021/Q1-3 2020 Q1-3 2021/Q1-3 2020 Q3 2021/Q3 2020 Q3 2021/Q3 2020
Total 1 181 141 1 050 485 100.0 12 8 17 5
Wood and paper products 124 459 108 624 10.5 15 ‑1 31 0
Wood 36 864 24 574 3.1 50 ‑9 86 ‑12
Pulp and waste paper 20 798 17 889 1.8 16 ‑1 32 ‑7
Paper, paperproducts 61 116 61 178 5.2 0 2 11 6
Minerals 136 328 107 235 11.5 27 5 44 9
Iron ore and concentrates 30 387 21 021 2.6 45 1 50 ‑3
Iron and steel 52 083 42 231 4.4 23 8 60 17
Non-ferrous metals 27 511 20 647 2.3 33 11 39 16
Chemicals, rubber products 169 308 173 144 14.3 ‑2 1 21 15
Organic/inorganic chemicals 17 408 14 088 1.5 24 19 38 19
Pharmaceuticals products 71 694 93 443 6.1 ‑23 ‑15 4 6
Plastics 32 445 25 140 2.7 29 17 50 24
Mineral fuels, electric current 81 723 51 535 6.9 59 2 92 12
Petroleum products 63 543 44 390 5.4 43 ‑1 82 9
Machinery, transport equipment 507 105 456 002 42.9 11 16 4 3
Manufactures of metals 31 918 27 546 2.7 16 15 17 11
Industrial machinery 164 633 151 534 13.9 9 10 7 4
Electronics, telecommunication 122 662 113 733 10.4 8 13 10 12
Road vehicles 154 028 130 948 13.0 18 25 ‑7 ‑8
Passenger cars 80 638 72 196 6.8 12 22 ‑16 ‑16
Lorries, trucks[1] 22 151 15 479 1.9 43 47 26 23
Parts, accessories 39 789 34 516 3.4 15 19 ‑10 ‑11
Other transport equipment 6 163 6 474 0.5 ‑5 1 16 16
Instruments, photo/optical products 27 702 25 767 2.3 8 14 5 6
Other products 162 217 153 945 13.7 5 5 5 0
Food, beverages, tobacco 74 943 72 229 6.3 4 2 8 1
Textiles, clothing, footwear 33 014 30 750 2.8 7 8 2 ‑1
Furniture 15 364 14 381 1.3 7 8 2 1

  Imports
  Value (current prices) Value (current prices) Volume (value in constant prices) Value (current prices) Volume (value in constant prices)
      Share in % Change in % Change in % Change in % Change in %
Commodity group according to SITC January-September 2021 January-September 2020 January-September 2021 Q1-3 2021/Q1-3 2020 Q1-3 2021/Q1-3 2020 Q3 2021/Q3 2020 Q3 2021/Q3 2020
Total 1 151 252 1 006 503 100.0 14 11 18 8
Wood and paper products 30 717 28 906 2.7 6 4 19 8
Minerals 97 283 72 344 8.5 34 15 54 18
Iron and steel 41 075 29 295 3.6 40 15 77 21
Non-ferrous metals 20 895 14 233 1.8 47 22 70 30
Metalliferrous ores, metal scrap 15 751 11 001 1.4 43 9 41 5
Chemicals, rubber products 149 726 137 792 13.0 9 5 18 7
Organic/inorganic chemicals 27 797 27 676 2.4 0 ‑8 13 ‑7
Pharmaceuticals products 39 776 39 686 3.5 0 6 6 10
Plastics 30 115 24 823 2.6 21 5 43 14
Crude rubber, rubber products 13 148 11 533 1.1 14 19 11 9
Mineral fuels, electric current 108 295 80 832 9.4 34 ‑6 70 3
Crude petroleum oils 57 484 38 367 5.0 50 1 98 24
Petroleum products 37 834 34 553 3.3 9 ‑11 43 ‑5
Machinery, transport equipment 505 178 440 462 43.9 15 18 9 8
Manufactures of metals 39 366 34 339 3.4 15 13 20 10
Industrial machinery 121 744 107 152 10.6 14 16 16 14
Electronics, telecommunication 184 549 160 260 16.0 15 22 15 18
Road vehicles 123 121 105 650 10.7 17 16 ‑11 ‑12
Passenger cars 63 533 53 140 5.5 20 18 ‑16 ‑18
Parts and accessories 39 133 33 842 3.4 16 19 ‑2 ‑4
Other transport equipment 6 859 6 207 0.6 11 16 46 46
Instruments, photo/optical equip 29 539 26 854 2.6 10 13 9 9
Other products 260 054 246 168 22.6 6 9 9 6
Food, beverages, tobacco 119 000 119 730 10.3 ‑1 1 8 2
Textiles, clothing, footwear 64 435 57 988 5.6 11 18 7 7
Furniture 20 622 18 034 1.8 14 15 16 11

Definitions and explanations

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union has led to the replacement of the former EU28 group in the country tables for foreign trade in goods with the EU27_2020 group. This change applies to country tables with data reported as from January 2020. The cutoff point is January 2020, rather than the actual withdrawal month February 2020, since the values in the tables are based on accumulated periods starting from January. In this text, the term EU27 is used.

Publication

This report is published in more detail in the statistical report:

Foreign Trade – Exports and imports of goods January–September 2021/quarter 3 2021

Next publishing will be

2022-02-28 at 08:00.

Statistical Database

More information is available in the Statistical Database

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