UK overseas trade in goods statistics: March 2023
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 March 2023:
- total goods exports were £37.7bn:
- up by £3.2bn (9.2%) compared with February 2023
- up by £3.4bn (10%) compared with March 2022
- total goods imports were £57.9bn:
- up by £5.3bn (10%) compared with February 2023
- down by £4.3bn (6.9%) compared with March 2022
- the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £20.3bn, widening by £2.1bn on February 2023
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In March 2023:
- EU exports were £17.2bn:
- up by £1.4bn (9.0%) compared with February 2023
- down by £1.0bn (5.4%) compared with March 2022
- EU imports were £30.7bn:
- up by £4.3bn (16%) compared with February 2023
- up by £1.6bn (5.5%) compared with March 2022
- for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £13.5bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In March 2023:
- Non-EU exports were £20.4bn:
- up by £1.7bn (9.3%) compared with February 2023
- up by £4.4bn (27%) compared with March 2022
- Non-EU imports were £27.2bn:
- up by £1.0bn (3.8%) compared with February 2023
- down by £5.9bn (18%) compared with March 2022
- for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £6.8bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change since |
|
USA |
4.7 |
3.2 |
6.0 |
11.1 |
|
Germany |
3.1 |
2.6 |
7.1 |
14.3 |
|
Netherlands |
3.1 |
13.2 |
5.1 |
15.3 |
|
China |
2.1 |
34.4 |
4.4 |
-14.7 |
|
France |
2.1 |
7.8 |
3.5 |
10.8 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
USA |
4.7 |
3.2 |
|
Switzerland |
4.1 |
41.4 |
|
Netherlands |
3.1 |
13.2 |
|
Germany |
3.1 |
2.6 |
|
Ireland |
2.3 |
-7.3 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Germany |
7.1 |
14.3 |
|
USA |
6.0 |
11.1 |
|
Netherlands |
5.1 |
15.3 |
|
China |
4.4 |
-14.7 |
|
France |
3.5 |
10.8 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since February 2023 (%) |
Imports value |
Change since February 2023 (%) |
|
Mechanical appliances |
6.4 |
17.5 |
7.5 |
18.4 |
|
Mineral fuels |
3.2 |
4.8 |
7.2 |
-4.8 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.4 |
3.9 |
6.6 |
8.4 |
|
Precious metals |
5.8 |
0.2 |
3.8 |
-9.2 |
|
Electronic equipment |
2.1 |
17.8 |
5.3 |
13.1 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mechanical appliances |
6.4 |
17.5 |
|
Precious metals |
5.8 |
0.2 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.4 |
3.9 |
|
Mineral fuels |
3.2 |
4.8 |
|
Electronic equipment |
2.1 |
17.8 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mechanical appliances |
7.5 |
18.4 |
|
Mineral fuels |
7.2 |
-4.8 |
|
Motor vehicles |
6.6 |
8.4 |
|
Electronic equipment |
5.3 |
13.1 |
|
Precious metals |
3.8 |
-9.2 |
Full commentary
Visit GOV.UK for more details and analysis of March 2023 data.
Datasets
Access monthly data for combined EU and non-EU trade.
- UK overseas trade in goods March 2023: import data (XLSX, 28.6 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods March 2023: export data (XLSX, 28.5 KB)
- Gold trade for March 2023 (XLSX, 46.4 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: March 2023 (XLSX, 611 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: March 2023 (XLSX, 39 KB)
- Top 25 trading partners: March 2023 (XLSX, 38.7 KB)
Earlier data
Find earlier overseas trade statistics.
Get help with using data
Read our detailed guide to using 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