UK regional trade in goods statistics: fourth quarter 2023
This section is National Statistics
Find data on the UK's international trade in goods at summary and product level, by UK regions and devolved administrations.
The RTS fourth quarter (October to December) 2023 publication includes corrections to 2022 and 2023 data as announced on 12th December 2023. These changes are in accordance with those made to OTS data published on 12th January 2024, where more details on the corrections made can be found.
Summary of trade trends
In the 12 months ending December 2023, compared with the previous 12 months:
- all UK countries experienced a decrease in the value of exports, except for Northern Ireland which increased
- all UK countries experienced a decrease in the value of imports, except for Northern Ireland which increased
- export values for the North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, and South West increased while all other English regions experienced decreases
- import values decreased for all English regions, except for the East Midlands and East
UK total goods trade by UK country
UK total goods trade by UK country: year to December 2023, compared with the previous 12 months
|
Exports |
Change in year (%) |
Imports |
Change in year (%) |
|
|
UK |
365.7 |
-2.3 |
597.6 |
-5.4 |
|
England |
263.0 |
-1.7 |
449.3 |
-5.4 |
|
Wales |
19.4 |
-5.2 |
21.3 |
-11.7 |
|
Scotland |
33.3 |
-8.3 |
29.9 |
-18.2 |
|
Northern Ireland |
10.9 |
16.6 |
9.6 |
0.5 |
Note: UK figures includes trade that cannot be allocated to a region.
Top trading partners by UK country, year to December 2023
You can create and explore more UK country data in the interactive data tables.
Top trading partners by trade value
|
Exports |
Value |
Imports |
Value |
|
|
England |
USA |
42.1 |
Germany |
64.0 |
|
Wales |
USA |
2.9 |
USA |
3.7 |
|
Scotland |
Netherlands |
6.2 |
Norway |
5.1 |
|
Northern Ireland |
Ireland |
4.1 |
Ireland |
3.4 |
Partner countries with largest increase in value compared with previous year
|
Exports |
Imports |
|
|
England |
USA |
France |
|
Wales |
Germany |
Kuwait |
|
Scotland |
Finland |
France |
|
Northern Ireland |
USA |
USA |
Partner countries with largest decrease in value compared with previous year
|
Exports |
Imports |
|
|
England |
Netherlands |
Norway |
|
Wales |
USA |
Japan |
|
Scotland |
Ireland |
Norway |
|
Northern Ireland |
Thailand |
China |
Top traded commodities by UK country, year to December 2023
You can explore SITC values by UK region in the accompanying data tables.
Top exported commodities (SITC Divisions) by value
|
|
Commodity (SITC Division) |
Value (£ billion) |
Change in year (%) |
|
England |
Machinery & transport equipment |
120.2 |
14.7 |
|
Wales |
Machinery & transport equipment |
8.3 |
9.7 |
|
Scotland |
Mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials |
10.1 |
-20.1 |
|
Northern Ireland |
Machinery & transport equipment |
3.7 |
18.5 |
Top imported commodities (SITC Divisions) by value
|
|
Commodity (SITC Division) |
Value (£ billion) |
Change in year (%) |
|
England |
Machinery & transport equipment |
179.6 |
12.3 |
|
Wales |
Machinery & transport equipment |
7.8 |
3.5 |
|
Scotland |
Machinery & transport equipment |
11.7 |
5.9 |
|
Northern Ireland |
Machinery & transport equipment |
2.8 |
19.9 |
Full commentary
Visit GOV.UK for more details and analysis on UK regional trade in goods statistics, fourth quarter, October to December 2023 data.
Datasets
Access quarterly data for combined EU and non-EU trade.
Earlier data
Find earlier regional trade statistics.
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