UK overseas trade in goods statistics: April 2021
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 April 2021:
- total goods exports were £28.1bn:
- down by £6.9bn (20%) compared with March 2021
- up by £4.3bn (18%) compared with April 2020
- total goods imports were £39.1bn:
- down by £2.8bn (6.6%) compared with March 2021
- up by £9.4bn (32%) compared with April 2020
the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £11.0bn, widening by £4.1bn on March 2021
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In April 2021:
- EU exports were £13.1bn:
- down by £1.5bn (10%) compared with March 2021
- up by £3.6bn (38%) compared with April 2020
- EU imports were £17.2bn:
- down by £3.0bn (15%) compared with March 2021
- up by £4.3bn (33%) compared with April 2020
- for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £4.1bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In April 2021:
- Non-EU exports were £14.9bn:
- down by £5.4bn (27%) compared with March 2021
- up by £0.7bn (4.8%) compared with April 2020
- Non-EU imports were £21.9bn:
- up by £0.2bn (1.0%) compared with March 2021
- up by £5.1bn (31%) compared with April 2020
- for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £6.9bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change |
Imports value |
Change |
|
USA |
3.8 |
-11.4 |
3.6 |
-0.1 |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
-11.7 |
4.4 |
-18.3 |
|
China |
1.3 |
-18.6 |
4.7 |
-12.9 |
|
Netherlands |
1.8 |
-11.6 |
2.1 |
-19.8 |
|
France |
1.5 |
-17.1 |
1.6 |
-13.3 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
USA |
3.8 |
-11.4 |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
-11.7 |
|
Netherlands |
1.8 |
-11.6 |
|
Republic of Ireland |
1.7 |
-10.5 |
|
Switzerland |
1.7 |
-70.8 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
China |
4.7 |
-12.9 |
|
Germany |
4.4 |
-18.3 |
|
USA |
3.6 |
-0.1 |
|
Netherlands |
2.1 |
-19.8 |
|
Belgium |
1.8 |
-6.6 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change |
Imports value |
Change |
|
Precious metals |
4.6 |
-39.1 |
4.7 |
8.7 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
3.8 |
-15.7 |
4.9 |
-10.7 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.6 |
-26.5 |
3.6 |
-23.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.6 |
-13.0 |
3.6 |
-2.6 |
|
Mineral fuels |
1.4 |
-19.6 |
2.9 |
11.5 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Precious metals |
4.6 |
-39.1 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
3.8 |
-15.7 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.6 |
-26.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.6 |
-13.0 |
|
Pharmaceutical products |
1.4 |
-17.3 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.9 |
-10.7 |
|
Precious metals |
4.7 |
8.7 |
|
Electronic equipment |
3.6 |
-2.6 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.6 |
-23.5 |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.9 |
11.5 |
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 April 2021: export data (XLSX, 28.2 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods April 2021: import data (XLSX, 28.5 KB)
- Gold trade for April 2021 (XLSX, 36 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: April 2021 (XLSX, 608.5 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: April 2021 (XLSX, 39.3 KB)
- Top 20 trading partners: April 2021 (XLSX, 38.9 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