UK overseas trade in goods statistics: December 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 December 2021:
- total goods exports were £34.2bn:
- up by £4.4bn (15%) compared with November 2021
- up by £5.7bn (20%) compared with December 2020
- total goods imports were £46.5bn:
- down by £2.0bn (4.1%) compared with November 2021
- up by £1.3bn (2.9%) compared with December 2020
- the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £12.3bn, narrowing by £6.4bn on November 2021
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In December 2021:
- EU exports were £14.6bn:
- down by less than £0.1bn (0.1%) compared with November 2021
- up by £0.7bn (5.4%) compared with December 2020
- EU imports were £18.9bn:
- down by £1.9bn (9.1%) compared with November 2021
- down by £4.0bn (18%) compared with December 2020
- for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £4.3bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In December 2021:
- Non-EU exports were £19.5bn:
- up by £4.4bn (29%) compared with November 2021
- up by £5.0bn (34%) compared with December 2020
- Non-EU imports were £27.6bn:
- down by £0.1bn (0.3%) compared with November 2021
- up by £5.3bn (24%) compared with December 2020
- for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £8.1bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change since |
|
USA |
3.7 |
1.4 |
4.5 |
31.0 |
|
Germany |
2.4 |
-9.4 |
4.3 |
-10.8 |
|
China |
1.4 |
20.5 |
5.2 |
-20.8 |
|
Switzerland |
4.6 |
199.6 |
0.8 |
-1.7 |
|
Netherlands |
2.2 |
-12.1 |
3.1 |
-4.9 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Switzerland |
4.6 |
199.6 |
|
USA |
3.7 |
1.4 |
|
Ireland |
2.6 |
29.7 |
|
Germany |
2.4 |
-9.4 |
|
Netherlands |
2.2 |
-12.1 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
China |
5.2 |
-20.8 |
|
Norway |
4.7 |
26.8 |
|
USA |
4.5 |
31.0 |
|
Germany |
4.3 |
-10.8 |
|
Netherlands |
3.1 |
-4.9 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change since November |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.6 |
-3.7 |
8.9 |
37.1 |
|
Precious metals |
6.7 |
141.4 |
4.3 |
-0.6 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.8 |
2.7 |
4.7 |
-5.5 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.6 |
-4.9 |
3.9 |
-13.2 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.8 |
1.5 |
3.9 |
-11.9 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Precious metals |
6.7 |
141.4 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.8 |
2.7 |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.6 |
-3.7 |
|
Motor vehicles |
2.6 |
-4.9 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.8 |
1.5 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mineral fuels |
8.9 |
37.1 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
4.7 |
-5.5 |
|
Precious metals |
4.3 |
-0.6 |
|
Electronic equipment |
3.9 |
-11.9 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.9 |
-13.2 |
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 2021: import data (XLSX, 34.8 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods December 2021: export data (XLSX, 34.4 KB)
- Gold trade for December 2021 (XLSX, 37.4 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: December 2021 (XLSX, 610.3 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: December 2021 (XLSX, 39.4 KB)
- Top 20 trading partners: December 2021 (XLSX, 37.8 KB)
Earlier data
Find earlier overseas trade statistics.
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