Value of exports of goods decreased by 6.9 per cent in 2023, volume of exports decreased by 2.7 per cent

According to preliminary data on international trade on goods available to Finnish Customs, the value of Finnish exports of goods decreased by 6.9 per cent in 2023. The volume of exports decreased by 2.7 per cent and the export prices declined by 3.6 per cent compared to 2022. The value of exports amounted to 76.21 billion euros. The value of imports decreased by 17.6 per cent in comparison with 2022. In terms of volume, imports diminished by 10.7 per cent, while import prices declined by 7.4 per cent. The value of goods imports amounted to 76.17 billion euros.

The trade balance turned to surplus in 2023. The last time the trade balance experienced a surplus on an annual basis was in 2010. According to preliminary data, the trade balance showed a surplus of 45 million euros in 2023. The trade with EU countries had a deficit of 1.0 billion euros, but the trade with non-EU countries showed a surplus of 1.1 billion euros. The trade deficit was record-high the year before, 10.6 billion euros. In 2021, the trade balance showed a deficit of 4.0 billion euros.

In the international trade in goods, 2023 was also a year of rather slow decline. The volume of exports, calculated by 12-month moving average, decreased by 2.7 per cent. The decline was, however slower compared to 4.9 per cent decline in volume the previous year. The fall in both export and import prices decreased the value of international trade in goods to a significant extent. The previous year, the rise of both export and import prices had been almost 25 per cent. The price decrease in energy products had a significant effect especially on the decrease in the value of imports. In 2023, also the volume of imports turned downwards, by 10.7 per cent. The year before there had still been a slight growth of 0.8 per cent. The import prices of food continued to rise also in 2023, but more slowly than the year before. The import prices rose by about 14 per cent, whereas the previous year the rise was over 20 per cent.

Exports of machinery and equipment increased in 2023

According to preliminary data, the export value of both industrial and electrical machinery and equipment increased in 2023, the growth was altogether 8.3 per cent. The exports of a cruise ship for a value of 1.9 billion euros improved the export value of transport equipment significantly. The export value of pharmaceutical products increased also considerably, by 53.0 per cent. The export value of other chemical industry products decreased. Of forest industry products, the export value of timber fell the most, 26.1 per cent. The export value of paper and paperboard decreased by 18.2 per cent and that of paper pulp 5.7 per cent. The export value of energy products and metal industry products fell also in 2023.

The import value decreased in almost all the significant commodity classes. The fall in energy products import value was 38.9 per cent according to preliminary data and in metal industry products import value almost 25 per cent. The imports of industrial machinery and equipment decreased by 12.9 per cent and the imports of electrical machinery and equipment by 5.1 per cent. The imports of chemical industry products also decreased.

The United States was the largest export country

The United States became our largest trading partner for exports in 2023, the cruise ship export to the country contributed heavily. The share of total exports of goods was 11.1 per cent according to preliminary data and the export value increased by 8.3 per cent. The value of exports to Sweden decreased by 8.4 per cent, but the country was the second largest trading partner for exports with a share of 10.7 per cent. Germany had the third place, the export value rose by 3.1 per cent and share of total exports was 10.5 per cent. Trade with Russia continued to decline also in 2023, Russia’s share of total exports was 0.9 per cent. Russia’s share of total imports of goods dropped to 1.7 per cent in 2023, when the value of imports went down by 78.5 per cent. At the same time, Norway became the fourth largest trading partner for imports with a share of 7.8 per cent. The value of imports from Germany decreased by 8.8 per cent and from Sweden by 25.2 per cent. These two countries were the largest import countries. The value of imports from China declined by 19.9 (share 8.9%) per cent and from the United States by 1.7 per cent (share 5.4%).