Surplus on external trade in goods amounts to EUR 398 million in December, volume of exports lessens by 2.6% and that of imports by 2.7% compared to November
In December 2020, the volume of exports increased by 14% and that of imports by 12% compared to the same period of the previous year. The surplus was EUR 398 million, the balance improving by EUR 299 million compared to December 2019. Compared to November, the seasonally and working-day-adjusted volume of exports lessened by 2.6% and that of imports by 2.7%. In 2020, the surplus on the balance of external trade in goods amounted to EUR 5.8 billion, EUR 1.5 billion more than one year earlier.
In December 2020:
The value of exports amounted to EUR 8.3 billion (HUF 3,002 billion) and that of imports to EUR 8.0 billion (HUF 2,860 billion).
In December 2020 compared to a year earlier:
The value of exports increased by 11% and that of imports by 7.1% in EUR terms.
According to calendar-adjusted data, the volume of exports grew by 6.1% and that of imports by 6.0%.
The balance of external trade in goods improved by EUR 299 million. (The surplus was EUR 88 million larger than that published in the first estimate.)
The forint (HUF) price level of external trade in goods rose by 4.2% in imports and by 5.5% in exports compared to the same month of the previous year. The terms of trade improved by 1.2%. The forint exchange rate weakened by 8.5% against the euro and strengthened by 0.9% against the dollar.
Calculated at prices in December 2019, both the exports and the imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 15%. The exports of road vehicles became nearly one-tenth higher, while their imports hardly changed compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment grew by one-sixth and their imports by more than one-sixth compared to December 2019. The exports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, n.e.s., went up by nearly one-third and their imports by more than one-seventh. The exports of power-generating machinery and equipment rose by more than one-fourth and their imports by nearly one-fifth. The exports of general industrial machinery and equipment, n.e.s., increased by nearly one-seventh and their imports were slightly down compared to the same period of the previous year. The exports of machinery specialised for particular industries lessened by one-tenth, while its imports grew by nearly one-fourth compared to December 2019. Both sides of trade in other transport equipment went up: exports rose by one-third and imports eight-fold compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The export volume of manufactured goods became 16% and their import volume 18% larger. Trade in professional, scientific and controlling instruments and apparatus, medical and pharmaceutical products and chemical materials and products, n.e.s. contributed to the growth on both sides of trade. The increase of exports was due in addition to trade in miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s., plastics in primary forms and non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s. and the growth of imports to trade in manufactures of metals, n.e.s.
The export volume of fuels and electric energy became 5.3% and their import volume 20% lower than in the same period of the previous year. The decrease in the volume of both exports and imports can be explained by changes in trade in petroleum, petroleum products and related materials.
The volume of exports of food, beverages and tobacco rose by 9.1% and the volume of their imports by 0.4%. The growth was due on both sides of trade to changes in trade in feeding stuffs for animals (excluding unmilled cereals), cereals and cereal preparations and dairy products and birds’ eggs, and the increase of exports, in addition, to the growth of trade in edible products and preparations, n.e.s.
The volume of exports to EU-27 Member States was up by 15% and the volume of imports from there by 6.3%. The surplus on external trade in goods rose by EUR 471 million and amounted to EUR 742 million. These countries accounted for 75% of exports and 69% of imports.
In extra-EU-27 trade, the volume of exports became 13% and that of imports 25% higher. The balance of external trade in goods with this group of countries deteriorated by EUR 172 million and showed a deficit of EUR 344 million.
In January–December 2020:
The value of exports amounted to EUR 104.5 billion (HUF 36.7 thousand billion) and that of imports to EUR 98.7 billion (HUF 34.6 thousand billion).
In January–December 2020 compared to a year earlier:
The volume of exports was down by 1.3% and that of imports by 1.0%.
The surplus on the balance of external trade in goods went up by EUR 1.5 billion and amounted to EUR 5.8 billion.
The forint price level of external trade in goods rose by 2.6% in imports and by 4.7% in exports. The terms of trade improved by 2.0%. The forint depreciated by 7.9% against the euro and by 5.9% against the dollar.
External trade in goods, January–December 2020
| Denomination | Exports | Imports | Balance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| value, at current prices | same period of previous year=100.0% | value, at current prices | same period of previous year=100.0% | value, at current prices | in same period of previous year | |
| Billion HUF | 36 656 | 103.3 | 34 610 | 101.6 | 2 046 | 1 413 |
| Million EUR | 104 490 | 95.8 | 98 695 | 94.2 | 5 795 | 4 334 |