UK overseas trade in goods statistics: October 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 October 2023:
total goods exports were £41.3bn:
-
- up by £6.1bn (17%) compared with September 2023
- down by £0.3bn (0.7%) compared with October 2022
total goods imports were £56.3bn:
-
- up by £7.7bn (16%) compared with September 2023
- up by £0.2bn (0.4%) compared with October 2022
the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £15.0bn, widening by £1.6bn on September 2023
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In October 2023:
EU exports were £15.8bn:
-
- up by £0.5bn (3.2%) compared with September 2023
- down by £1.6bn (9.4%) compared with October 2022
EU imports were £29.2bn:
-
- up by £3.7bn (15%) compared with September 2023
- up by £2.8bn (11%) compared with October 2022
for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £13.4bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In October 2023:
Non-EU exports were £25.5bn:
-
- up by £5.6bn (28%) compared with September 2023
- up by £1.3bn (5.6%) compared with October 2022
Non-EU imports were £27.1bn:
-
- up by £3.9bn (17%) compared with September 2023
- down by £2.6bn (8.8%) compared with October 2022
for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £1.6bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change |
|
USA |
5.2 |
13.2 |
5.0 |
21.0 |
|
China |
4.0 |
64.6 |
6.2 |
11.7 |
|
Germany |
2.8 |
9.2 |
7.0 |
28.2 |
|
Netherlands |
2.1 |
-12.5 |
4.4 |
4.9 |
|
France |
2.3 |
27.2 |
3.5 |
13.4 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
USA |
5.2 |
13.2 |
|
China |
4.0 |
64.6 |
|
Switzerland |
3.5 |
143.3 |
|
Germany |
2.8 |
9.2 |
|
India |
2.7 |
44.6 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Germany |
7.0 |
28.2 |
|
China |
6.2 |
11.7 |
|
USA |
5.0 |
21.0 |
|
Netherlands |
4.4 |
4.9 |
|
France |
3.5 |
13.4 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports value |
Change since September 2023 (%) |
|
Precious metals |
10.6 |
56.2 |
3.6 |
17.4 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
6.0 |
7.2 |
6.8 |
10.5 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.9 |
14.7 |
7.1 |
25.6 |
|
Mineral fuels |
3.0 |
19.3 |
6.3 |
31.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
2.0 |
3.1 |
5.9 |
16.8 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Precious metals |
10.6 |
56.2 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
6.0 |
7.2 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.9 |
14.7 |
|
Mineral fuels |
3.0 |
19.3 |
|
Electronic equipment |
2.0 |
3.1 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Motor vehicles |
7.1 |
25.6 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
6.8 |
10.5 |
|
Mineral fuels |
6.3 |
31.5 |
|
Electronic equipment |
5.9 |
16.8 |
|
Precious metals |
3.6 |
17.4 |
Full commentary
Visit GOV.UK for more details and analysis of October 2023 data.
Datasets
Access monthly data for combined EU and non-EU trade.
- UK overseas trade in goods October 2023: import data (XLSX, 34.6 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods October 2023: export data (XLSX, 37.5 KB)
- Gold trade for October 2023 (XLSX, 54.4 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: October 2023 (XLSX, 36.6 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: October 2023 (XLSX, 39.3 KB)
- Top 25 trading partners: October 2023 (XLSM, 49 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