During 2013, euro area trade in goods recorded a surplus of 153.8 bn euro, compared with +79.7 bn in 2012. The EU28 recorded a surplus of 49.9 bn in 2013, compared with a deficit of 115.0 bn in 2012.
EU28 detailed results for January to November 2013
The EU28 deficit for energy decreased (-351.4 bn euro in January-November 2013 compared with -388.4 bn in January-November 2012), while the surplus for manufactured goods increased (+354.0 bn compared with +322.8 bn).
EU28 imports from most of its major partners fell in January-November 2013 compared with January-November 2012, except for Turkey (+3%). The most notable decreases were recorded for imports from Japan (-14%), Brazil (-13%), Switzerland and Norway (both -12%). The pattern was mixed for EU28 exports, with the largest increases registered for exports to Switzerland (+28%) and South Korea (+6%), and the most notable falls for exports to India (-7%) and Japan (-4%).
The EU28 trade surplus increased significantly with Switzerland (+70.9 bn euro in January-November 2013 compared with +24.6 bn in January-November 2012) and more moderately with the USA (+84.3 bn compared with +80.5 bn), Turkey (+25.8 bn compared with +25.0 bn) and Brazil (+6.6 bn compared with +1.4 bn). The EU28 trade deficit fell with China (-121.6 bn compared with -136.8 bn), Russia (-78.1 bn compared with -82.6 bn), Norway (-35.9 bn compared with -47.0 bn) and Japan (-2.5 bn compared with -8.9 bn).
Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+185.5 bn euro in January-November 2013), followed by the Netherlands (+50.6 bn), Ireland (+34.6 bn), Italy (+26.8 bn), Belgium (+13.9 bn), the Czech Republic (+13.2 bn) and Denmark (+10.2 bn). The United Kingdom (-78.6 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-69.9 bn), Greece (-17.9 bn) and Spain (-14.4 bn).
