UK overseas trade in goods statistics: August 2020
This section is Statistical release
Find UK overseas trade statistics data detailing international trade in goods at product and summary level.
Summary of trade trends
In August 2020:
- total goods exports were £23.1bn:
- down by £2.2bn (8.6%) compared with July 2020
- down by £4.8bn (17%) compared with August 2019
- total goods imports were £40.8bn:
- up by £0.1bn (0.2%) compared with July 2020
- down by £7.7bn (16%) compared with August 2019
The UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £17.6bn, up by £2.3bn on July 2020.
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In August 2020:
- EU exports were £10.8bn:
- down by £1.1bn (9.2%) compared with July 2020
- down by £1.9bn (15%) compared with August 2019
- EU imports were £17.0bn:
- down by £1.9bn (9.9%) compared with July 2020
- down by £3.7bn (18%) compared with August 2019
- for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £6.2bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In August 2020:
- Non-EU exports were £12.4bn:
- down by £1.1bn (8.1%) compared with July 2020
- down by £2.8bn (19%) compared with August 2019
- Non-EU imports were £23.8bn:
- up by £2.0bn (9.0%) compared with July 2020
- down by £4.0bn (14%) compared with August 2019
- for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £11.4bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
Imports value |
Change |
|
Germany |
2.5 |
-2.2 |
4.4 |
-12.0 |
|
USA |
3.4 |
-8.5 |
3.2 |
5.0 |
|
China |
1.2 |
4.2 |
4.4 |
-5.7 |
|
Netherlands |
1.3 |
-16.6 |
2.6 |
-9.3 |
|
Hong Kong |
0.5 |
4.1 |
2.5 |
35.7 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
|
USA |
3.4 |
-8.5 |
|
Germany |
2.5 |
-2.2 |
|
Republic of Ireland |
1.6 |
-4.4 |
|
France |
1.4 |
-14.1 |
|
Netherlands |
1.3 |
-16.6 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
|
China |
4.4 |
-5.7 |
|
Germany |
4.4 |
-12.0 |
|
USA |
3.2 |
5.0 |
|
Netherlands |
2.6 |
-9.3 |
|
France |
2.5 |
35.7 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
Imports value |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
|
Precious metals |
2.1 |
-13.6 |
10.1 |
38.0 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
3.4 |
-16.5 |
3.8 |
-14.5 |
|
Motor vehicles |
1.8 |
-27.0 |
3.1 |
-19.2 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.6 |
-7.6 |
3.3 |
-10.3 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.7 |
13.8 |
1.7 |
12.1 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
|
Mechanical appliances |
3.4 |
-16.5 |
|
Precious metals |
2.1 |
-13.6 |
|
Motor vehicles |
1.8 |
-27.0 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.7 |
13.8 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.6 |
-7.6 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since July 2020 (%) |
|
Precious metals |
10.1 |
38.0 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
3.8 |
-14.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
3.3 |
-10.3 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.1 |
-19.2 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.7 |
12.1 |
Full commentary
Download the commentary for more details and analysis of this data.
Datasets
Access monthly data for combined EU and non-EU trade.
- UK overseas trade in goods statistics: August 2020: import data (XLS, 85 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods statistics: August 2020: export data (XLS, 87.5 KB)
- Gold trade for August 2020 (XLS, 101.5 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: August 2020 (XLS, 2.4 MB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Classification: August 2020 (XLS, 97.5 KB)
- Top 25 trading partners: August 2020 (XLS, 132.5 KB)
Earlier data
Find earlier overseas trade statistics.
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