UK overseas trade in goods statistics: December 2020
This section is National Statistics
Find UK overseas trade statistics data detailing international trade in goods at product and summary level.
Summary of trade trends
In December 2020:
- total goods exports were £28.2bn:
- down by £0.2bn (0.8%) compared with November 2020
- down by £2.4bn (8.0%) compared with December 2019
- total goods imports were £44.8bn:
- down by £3.9bn (8.0%) compared with November 2020
- up by £6.2bn (16%) compared with December 2019
- the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £16.5bn, narrowing by £3.6bn on November 2020
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In December 2020:
- EU exports were £13.0bn:
- down by £1.1bn (8.1%) compared with November 2020
- up by £0.2bn (1.3%) compared with December 2019
- EU imports were £22.5bn:
- down by £1.0bn (4.4%) compared with November 2020
- up by £3.7bn (20%) compared with December 2019
- for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £9.5bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In December 2020:
- Non-EU exports were £15.2bn:
- up by £0.9bn (6.4%) compared with November 2020
- down by £2.6bn (15%) compared with December 2019
- Non-EU imports were £22.3bn:
- down by £2.8bn (11%) compared with November 2020
- up by £2.4bn (12%) compared with December 2019
- for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £7.1bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
-13.6 |
5.5 |
-4.2 |
|
USA |
4.0 |
-4.7 |
3.5 |
-14.6 |
|
China |
1.3 |
-10.6 |
5.3 |
-15.6 |
|
Netherlands |
1.7 |
-6.8 |
3.4 |
-6.0 |
|
France |
1.6 |
7.1 |
2.2 |
-2.4 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
USA |
4.0 |
-4.7 |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
-13.6 |
|
Republic of Ireland |
2.4 |
-8.1 |
|
Netherlands |
1.7 |
-6.8 |
|
France |
1.6 |
7.1 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Germany |
5.5 |
-4.2 |
|
China |
5.3 |
-15.6 |
|
USA |
3.5 |
-14.6 |
|
Netherlands |
3.4 |
-6.0 |
|
Belgium |
2.4 |
4.3 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change since November |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.0 |
-1.1 |
4.9 |
-9.7 |
|
Precious metals |
2.6 |
12.8 |
6.1 |
-15.8 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.9 |
-10.6 |
4.7 |
-7.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.8 |
-1.7 |
4.5 |
-12.9 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.9 |
2.4 |
2.9 |
35.2 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.0 |
-1.1 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.9 |
-10.6 |
|
Precious metals |
2.6 |
12.8 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.9 |
2.4 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.8 |
-1.7 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Precious metals |
6.1 |
-15.8 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.9 |
-9.7 |
|
Motor vehicles |
4.7 |
-7.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
4.5 |
-12.9 |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.9 |
35.2 |
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 December 2020: import data (XLSX, 28.6 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods December 2020: export data (XLSX, 27.6 KB)
- Gold trade for December 2020 (XLSX, 35.9 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: December 2020 (XLSX, 608.5 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: December 2020 (XLSX, 39.3 KB)
- Top 25 trading partners: December 2020 (XLSX, 39 KB)
Earlier data
Find earlier overseas trade statistics.
Get help with using data
Read our detailed guide to using our data to:
- learn more about this data and our data sources
- understand key terms and definitions
- find out about methods we use to produce statistics