UK overseas trade in goods statistics: January 2024
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 January 2024:
total goods exports were £34.8bn:
-
- up by £5.6bn (19%) compared with December 2023
- up by £3.9bn (13%) compared with January 2023
total goods imports were £50.1bn:
-
- down by £0.3bn (0.5%) compared with December 2023
- down by £4.5bn (8.3%) compared with January 2023
the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £15.3bn, narrowing by £5.9bn on December 2023
EU and non-EU trade in goods
EU trade in goods
In January 2024:
EU exports were £14.5bn:
-
- up by £0.4bn (2.8%) compared with December 2023
- down by £1.0bn (6.7%) compared with January 2023
EU imports were £25.6bn:
-
- up by less than £0.1bn (less than 0.1%) compared with December 2023
- up by £1.0bn (3.9%) compared with January 2023
for EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £11.1bn
Non-EU trade in goods
In January 2024:
Non-EU exports were £20.3bn:
-
- up by £5.2bn (35%) compared with December 2023
- up by £5.0bn (33%) compared with January 2023
Non-EU imports were £24.5bn:
-
- down by £0.3bn (1.0%) compared with December 2023
- down by £5.5bn (18%) compared with January 2023
for non-EU trade, the UK was a net importer, with imports exceeding exports by £4.2bn
Top trading partners
Top 5 trading partners by combined exports and imports value
|
Country |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports |
Change |
|
USA |
4.1 |
-18.1 |
5.8 |
4.6 |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
0.2 |
6.3 |
-8.1 |
|
China |
2.4 |
154.6 |
4.7 |
1.8 |
|
Switzerland |
5.1 |
1,220.3 |
1.0 |
-41.0 |
|
Netherlands |
2.2 |
6.3 |
3.9 |
5.3 |
Exports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Switzerland |
5.1 |
1,220.3 |
|
USA |
4.1 |
-18.1 |
|
Germany |
2.6 |
0.2 |
|
China |
2.4 |
154.6 |
|
Netherlands |
2.2 |
6.3 |
Imports: top 5 trading partners
|
Country |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Germany |
6.3 |
-8.1 |
|
USA |
5.8 |
4.6 |
|
China |
4.7 |
1.8 |
|
Netherlands |
3.9 |
5.3 |
|
France |
2.9 |
-14.1 |
Top traded commodities
Top 5 commodities by combined exports and imports value
|
Commodity |
Exports value |
Change since |
Imports |
Change since December 2023 (%) |
|
Precious metals |
8.2 |
942.6 |
4.2 |
-37.3 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
5.4 |
-7.4 |
5.9 |
-2.5 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.1 |
-12.8 |
5.5 |
-5.2 |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.4 |
-13.3 |
6.1 |
9.9 |
|
Electronic equipment |
1.8 |
-5.6 |
4.7 |
8.2 |
Top 5 exported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Precious metals |
8.2 |
942.6 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
5.4 |
-7.4 |
|
Motor vehicles |
3.1 |
-12.8 |
|
Mineral fuels |
2.4 |
-13.3 |
|
Pharmaceutical products |
1.9 |
4.4 |
Top 5 imported commodities
|
Commodity |
Value (£ billion) |
Change since |
|
Mineral fuels |
6.1 |
9.9 |
|
Mechanical appliances |
5.9 |
-2.5 |
|
Motor vehicles |
5.5 |
-5.2 |
|
Electronic equipment |
4.7 |
8.2 |
|
Precious metals |
4.2 |
-37.3 |
Full commentary
Visit GOV.UK for more details and analysis of January 2024 data.
Datasets
Access monthly data for combined EU and non-EU trade.
- UK overseas trade in goods January 2024: import data (XLSX, 33.4 KB)
- UK overseas trade in goods January 2024: export data (XLSX, 36.7 KB)
- Gold trade for January 2024 (XLSX, 54.1 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Chapter: January 2024 (XLSX, 36.3 KB)
- Top 20 traded goods by Standard International Trade Classification: January 2024 (XLSX, 36.6 KB)
- Top 25 trading partners: January 2024 (XLSX, 36.1 KB)
Earlier data
Find earlier overseas trade statistics.
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