EU posts $264B trade surplus in 2020

ANKARA 

The EU foreign trade balance saw a €217.3 billion ($264 billion) surplus in 2020, compared to the previous year, the bloc's statistical office revealed on Monday.

According to Eurostat, the figure was up from €191.5 billion in January-December 2019.

Extra-EU exports of goods decreased by 9.4% to €1.9 trillion, while imports were €1.7 trillion, down 11.6%, in 2020.

"Intra-EU trade fell to €2.8 trillion in January-December 2020, down 7.5% compared with January-December 2019," it noted.


The degree to which the year-on-year development of exports and imports was affected depended however on the type of products, Eurostat said.

Energy posted by far the largest drop, followed by machinery and vehicles and other manufactured products, it said, adding food and drink, raw materials and chemicals were the only product groups with levels close to those observed in 2019.


China top trading partner

China was the bloc's main trade partner, with €383.5 billion imports from the union and €202.5 billion in exports.

At the same time trade with the US recorded a significant drop in both imports (13.2%) and exports (8.2%), Eurostat said.

By export volume, China, the UK, Switzerland, and Russia topped the list respectively in the same period, statistical office said.

Meanwhile, Turkey's exports to the EU27 fell 10.3% to reach €62.6 billion ($41 billion) and its imports from the EU28 were €69.9 billion ($47.8 billion), up 2.3% year-on-year in 2020.