Exports and imports of goods, January–September 2019, in current prices and in constant prices
Weaker foreign trade in goods in third quarter
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2019-11-27 9.30
In the period January-September 2019 Swedish exports of goods increased 7 percent and imports of goods increased 2 percent in current prices compared with the same period last year. Exports of goods increased by 3 percent in volume (value in constant prices), while imports of goods remained unchanged.
In the period January–September 2019, the value of Swedish exports amounted to SEK 1 134 billion. This is an increase of 7 percent compared with the same period last year. At the same time, imports of goods rose by 2 percent and amounted to SEK 1 112 billion. This resulted in a net trade surplus of SEK 22 billion. In the same period in 2018, there was a net trade deficit of SEK 27 billion. Exports of goods increased by 3 percent in volume, while imports of goods remained unchanged.
In the third quarter, Sweden’s exports of goods rose by 6 percent in current prices compared with the same period last year. At the same time, imports of goods increased by 3 percent. In volume terms, exports of goods from Sweden increased by 4 percent, and goods imports to Sweden increased by 3 percent in the third quarter of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018. In both current and constant prices, the third quarter is, thus far, the weakest in 2019 for both exports and imports of goods in terms of value and volume.
Detailed information about January–September 2019 (current prices)
Imports of goods from China rose 21 percent
Sweden’s exports of goods to the EU28 increased by 5 percent, and imports from there rose by 3 percent compared with the same period last year. Exports to the euro countries increased by 5 percent, and imports from there increased by 3 percent. Among the EU countries, exports to both the United Kingdom and Germany rose by 4 percent, and exports to Denmark increased by 6 percent. Imports from the United Kingdom decreased by 4 percent, and from Denmark by 2 percent, while imports from Germany remained unchanged.
Exports to other European countries rose by 6 percent, while imports from there remained unchanged. Exports to Norway rose by 8 percent, and imports from there increased by 4 percent. Exports to Russia increased by 1 percent, while imports from there decreased by 14 percent.
Exports to Asia increased by 8 percent, and imports from there rose by 11 percent. Exports to China increased by 7 percent, and imports from there rose by 21 percent.
Exports to the United States increased by 25 percent, and imports from there increased by 7 percent.
Exports of pharmaceutical products rose 31 percent
Exports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 7 percent. Within this product area, exports of passenger cars increased by 13 percent. Exports of minerals increased by 8 percent. Exports of wood and paper products rose by 5 percent, while mineral fuels and electric current decreased by 8 percent. Exports of chemicals and rubber products increased by 17 percent. Within this product area, exports of pharmaceutical products increased by 31 percent. Within the other products area, textiles/clothing/footwear increased by 17 percent.
Imports of crude petroleum oils decreased 14 percent
Imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 3 percent. Imports of minerals decreased by 1 percent, while imports of wood and paper products rose by 1 percent. Imports of chemicals and rubber products rose by 6 percent. Within this product area, imports of pharmaceutical products increased by 13 percent. Imports of mineral fuels and electric current fell by 7 percent. Within this product area, crude petroleum oils decreased by 14 percent. Imports of other products increased by 6 percent.
Detailed information about volume (value in constant prices) in the third quarter 2019
Export volume of pharmaceutical products increased 37 percent
Exports of goods increased by 4 percent in volume in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018.
Exports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 2 percent in volume in the third quarter. Within this product area, exports of passenger cars increased by 10 percent. Exports of mineral fuels and electric current decreased by 4 percent in volume and minerals decreased in export volume by 1 percent. Chemical and rubber products increased by 19 percent in volume. Within this product area, exports of pharmaceutical products increased by 37 percent. Exports of wood and paper products increased by 6 percent. Within other products, the export of textiles/clothing/footwear increased by 9 percent and food/beverages/tobacco increased by 5 percent in volume.
Import volume of passenger cars increased 32 percent
Imports of goods increased by 3 percent in volume in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018.
Imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 6 percent in volume. Within this product area, imports of passenger cars increased by 32 percent in volume. The import volume of mineral fuels and electric current decreased by 6 percent in the third quarter. Within this product area, imports of petroleum products decreased by 12 percent in volume. Imports of chemicals and rubber products increased by 7 percent in volume. Within this product area, pharmaceutical products increased by 10 percent. Imports of wood and paper products decreased by 5 percent and minerals decreased by 4 percent in volume. Imports of other products increased by 3 percent in value.
| Exports | Imports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value (current prices) | Value (current prices) | ||||||||
| Region | January-September | Share in % | Change in % | January-September | Share in % | Change in % | |||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019/ 2018 | 2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019/ 2018 | ||
| Total | 1 133 517 | 1 057 985 | 100.0 | 7 | 1 111 851 | 1 084 912 | 100.0 | 2 | |
| Europe | 827 088 | 788 888 | 73.0 | 5 | 926 566 | 907 516 | 83.3 | 2 | |
| EU-28 | 661 939 | 632 447 | 58.4 | 5 | 779 577 | 759 983 | 70.1 | 3 | |
| EMU-19 | 461 488 | 440 275 | 40.7 | 5 | 571 880 | 555 095 | 51.4 | 3 | |
| Other European countries | 165 149 | 156 441 | 14.6 | 6 | 146 989 | 147 533 | 13.2 | 0 | |
| Africa | 21 686 | 19 694 | 1.9 | 10 | 14 827 | 22 082 | 1.3 | ‑33 | |
| North Africa | 10 655 | 9 872 | 0.9 | 8 | 3 238 | 5 717 | 0.3 | ‑43 | |
| West Africa | 2 559 | 2 050 | 0.2 | 25 | 8 682 | 13 788 | 0.8 | ‑37 | |
| Central, East and Southern Africa | 8 471 | 7 773 | 0.7 | 9 | 2 906 | 2 577 | 0.3 | 13 | |
| America | 121 465 | 99 492 | 10.7 | 22 | 41 832 | 40 071 | 3.8 | 4 | |
| North America | 97 602 | 79 445 | 8.6 | 23 | 30 631 | 28 976 | 2.8 | 6 | |
| Central and South America | 23 862 | 20 047 | 2.1 | 19 | 11 201 | 11 095 | 1.0 | 1 | |
| Asia | 141 301 | 131 120 | 12.5 | 8 | 124 582 | 112 622 | 11.2 | 11 | |
| Middle- and Near East | 22 456 | 20 565 | 2.0 | 9 | 4 619 | 5 520 | 0.4 | ‑16 | |
| Other countries in Asia | 118 845 | 110 555 | 10.5 | 7 | 119 964 | 107 102 | 10.8 | 12 | |
| Oceania and Antarctica | 14 692 | 14 482 | 1.3 | 1 | 3 111 | 2 295 | 0.3 | 36 | |
| Exports | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value (current prices) | Volume (value in constant prices) | ||||||
| Share in % | Change in % | Change in % | |||||
| Commodity group according to SITC | January-September 2019 | January-September 2018 | January-September 2019 | January- September 2019/2018 | Q3 2019/ Q3 2018 | Q1-3 2019/ Q1-3 2018 | |
| Total | 1 133 517 | 1 057 985 | 100.0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| Wood and paper products | 113 757 | 108 337 | 10.0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |
| Wood | 23 998 | 23 165 | 2.1 | 4 | 12 | 5 | |
| Pulp and waste paper | 19 988 | 18 155 | 1.8 | 10 | 28 | 15 | |
| Paper, paperproducts | 64 696 | 62 216 | 5.7 | 4 | ‑3 | ‑2 | |
| Minerals | 118 046 | 108 871 | 10.4 | 8 | ‑1 | 2 | |
| Iron ore and concentrates | 18 587 | 14 848 | 1.6 | 25 | ‑9 | ‑4 | |
| Iron and steel | 55 723 | 49 521 | 4.9 | 13 | 5 | 7 | |
| Non-ferrous metals | 19 779 | 21 349 | 1.7 | ‑7 | ‑12 | ‑5 | |
| Chemicals, rubber products | 159 809 | 136 059 | 14.1 | 17 | 19 | 13 | |
| Organic/inorganic chemicals | 15 064 | 14 530 | 1.3 | 4 | 9 | ‑1 | |
| Pharmaceuticals products | 77 261 | 58 866 | 6.8 | 31 | 37 | 24 | |
| Plastics | 27 196 | 26 035 | 2.4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| Mineral fuels, electric current | 78 023 | 84 992 | 6.9 | ‑8 | ‑4 | ‑5 | |
| Petroleum products | 65 160 | 72 750 | 5.7 | ‑10 | ‑8 | ‑8 | |
| Machinery, transport equipment | 513 334 | 479 267 | 45.3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Manufactures of metals | 30 381 | 28 575 | 2.7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
| Industrial machinery | 169 705 | 157 323 | 15.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | |
| Electronics, telecommunication | 111 589 | 108 355 | 9.8 | 3 | ‑3 | ‑2 | |
| Road vehicles | 167 178 | 155 355 | 14.7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | |
| Passenger cars | 81 425 | 71 919 | 7.2 | 13 | 10 | 7 | |
| Lorries, trucks[1] | 24 628 | 25 772 | 2.2 | ‑4 | 1 | ‑9 | |
| Parts, accessories | 50 032 | 47 275 | 4.4 | 6 | ‑1 | 3 | |
| Other transport equipment | 9 117 | 6 587 | 0.8 | 38 | 32 | 28 | |
| Instruments, photo/optical products | 25 365 | 23 072 | 2.2 | 10 | 8 | 3 | |
| Other products | 150 547 | 140 459 | 13.3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | |
| Food, beverages, tobacco | 71 245 | 68 197 | 6.3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Textiles, clothing, footwear | 28 088 | 24 033 | 2.5 | 17 | 9 | 8 | |
| Furniture | 15 128 | 13 651 | 1.3 | 11 | 9 | 10 | |
| Imports | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value (current prices) | Volume (value in constant prices) | ||||||
| Share in % | Change in % | Change in % | |||||
| Commodity group according to SITC | January-September 2019 | January-September 2018 | January-September 2019 | January- September 2019/2018 | Q3 2019/ Q3 2018 | Q1-3 2019/ Q1-3 2018 | |
| Total | 1 111 851 | 1 084 912 | 100.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Wood and paper products | 32 261 | 31 937 | 2.9 | 1 | ‑5 | ‑3 | |
| Minerals | 86 636 | 87 949 | 7.8 | ‑1 | ‑4 | ‑4 | |
| Iron and steel | 39 079 | 42 123 | 3.5 | ‑7 | ‑7 | ‑9 | |
| Non-ferrous metals | 16 715 | 16 771 | 1.5 | 0 | ‑2 | 0 | |
| Metalliferrous ores, metal scrap | 12 081 | 11 808 | 1.1 | 2 | ‑4 | 3 | |
| Chemicals, rubber products | 139 282 | 130 901 | 12.5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
| Organic/inorganic chemicals | 28 929 | 28 214 | 2.6 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| Pharmaceuticals products | 34 385 | 30 376 | 3.1 | 13 | 10 | 14 | |
| Plastics | 27 649 | 27 141 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Crude rubber, rubber products | 13 472 | 13 161 | 1.2 | 2 | ‑2 | ‑2 | |
| Mineral fuels, electric current | 119 323 | 128 303 | 10.7 | ‑7 | ‑6 | ‑6 | |
| Crude petroleum oils | 58 124 | 67 227 | 5.2 | ‑14 | ‑8 | ‑12 | |
| Petroleum products | 48 724 | 47 808 | 4.4 | 2 | ‑12 | ‑1 | |
| Machinery, transport equipment | 481 426 | 467 861 | 43.3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| Manufactures of metals | 37 572 | 33 923 | 3.4 | 11 | 7 | 7 | |
| Industrial machinery | 119 275 | 113 248 | 10.7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| Electronics, telecommunication | 161 984 | 160 010 | 14.6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
| Road vehicles | 127 190 | 126 072 | 11.4 | 1 | 13 | ‑2 | |
| Passenger cars | 57 721 | 57 037 | 5.2 | 1 | 32 | 0 | |
| Parts and accessories | 45 816 | 46 604 | 4.1 | ‑2 | ‑10 | ‑5 | |
| Other transport equipment | 8 332 | 9 496 | 0.7 | ‑12 | ‑3 | ‑18 | |
| Instruments, photo/optical equip | 27 074 | 25 112 | 2.4 | 8 | 13 | 6 | |
| Other products | 252 922 | 237 961 | 22.7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Food, beverages, tobacco | 122 053 | 116 741 | 11.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Textiles, clothing, footwear | 62 106 | 56 118 | 5.6 | 11 | 5 | 5 | |
| Furniture | 18 640 | 17 552 | 1.7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
Definitions and explanations
The volume changes (value changes in constant prices) are calculated quarterly. In the quarterly calculation of the volume changes of goods, exports and imports of goods, the current quarter, calculated as the full-year level, are first compared with the previous full year. For each commodity according to CN8, the value of the quarter is calculated in the previous year’s average price by dividing the value of the quarter in current prices with the price trend between the periods. In the next step, the index numbers are calculated in a chain index series with the base year 2015 (2015 = 100). The volume and value index for the current period compared with the previous full year is linked to the corresponding index for the previous full years back to 2015.
Publication
This report is published in more detail in the statistical report:
Foreign trade – Exports and imports of goods January–September 2019 (pdf)
Next publishing will be
2020-02-27 at 09:30.
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.