EU chemicals imports, exports hold up year to August despite bottlenecks

MADRID (ICIS)–The EU’s chemicals exports and imports posted healthy increases in January-August, year on year, statistics body Eurostat said on Friday.

Imports of chemicals into EU countries from overseas rose by nearly 10% during the eight-month period, year on year, while exports rose by more than 6%.

The increases accredited by Eurostat will come as a relief for the petrochemicals industry as many end industries that buy its products are going through supply chain bottlenecks, which is denting output.

The petrochemicals-intensive automotive sectors, crippled by bottlenecks and a global shortage of semiconductors, has been posting sharp falls in sales for three months.

EU chemicals trade (€/bn)	January-August 2021	January-August 2020	Change
Imports	171.7	156.8	9.5%
Exports	292.9	275.2	6.4%
Trade surplus	121.2	118.4	—

The EU’s international trade in other petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing sectors also rose sharply during the period, and the 27-country bloc remains a net exporter.

EU industrial goods trade (€/bn)	January-August 2021	January-August 2020	Change
Imports	924.0	818.3	12.9%
Exports	1,150.4	1,017.5	13.1%
Trade surplus	226.3	199.3	—

Higher energy prices, however, caused a sharp increase in imports, further widening the traditional EU trade deficit as the region must import most of its energy.

EU energy trade (€/bn)	January-August 2021	January-August 2020	Change
Imports	213.4	151.1	41.2%
Exports	61.5	42.4	45.0%
Trade surplus	-151.9	108.7	—

In total, during January-August the EU exported goods worth €1,400bn, up 13.8% year on year, although imports stood at €1,307bn, up 16.7%, narrowing the EU’s trade surplus with the rest of the world.

During the eight-month period, the 27-country bloc’s surplus stood at €93.4bn.