News
Friday - 30 October 2009
No. 175/2009
External trade January-September 2009
Balance of trade
The value of exported goods from Iceland amounted to ISK 341,200 million fob and the value of imported goods amounted to ISK 297,500 million fob (ISK 325,200 million cif) January-September 2009. Thus there was a trade surplus, calculated on fob value, of 43,800 million as compared with a trade deficit of ISK 64,900 million in January-September 2008, at fixed rates of exhange.¹
Exports
The total value of exports of goods January-September 2009 was ISK 128,700 million or 27.4% lower at constant rates of exchange than in the same period the year before. Marine products were 44.7% of the total exports and their value 9.5% lower than the same period the year before. Exported manufacturing products were 49.6% of total exported goods and their value was 29.5% less than in the same period the year before. The largest decrease in value occurred in the export of manufacturing products, mainly aluminium, but there was also a decrease in exports of ships and aircrafts and marine products.
Imports
The total value of imports of goods January-September 2009 was ISK 237,400 million or 44.4% lower at constant rates of exchange than in the same period the year before. There was a decrease in almost all items of imports, largest in industrial supplies, transport equipments and capital goods.
| Balance of trade in January September 2009 | |||||
| Change on previous year at constant exchange rates, % January-September | |||||
| Million ISK at fixed exchange rate | |||||
| September | January–September | ||||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2008 | 2009 | ||
| Exports fob, total | 67,472 | 43,687 | 469,920 | 341,248 | -27.4 |
| Imports fob, total | 57,793 | 40,585 | 534,865 | 297,497 | -44.4 |
| Balance of trade | 9,679 | 3,102 | -64,945 | 43,751 | . |
| The value of exports and imports January-September 2008 and 2009 | |||
| Change on previous year at constant exchange rates 1) % January-September | |||
| Million ISK at current exchange rate | |||
| September | January-September | ||
| 2008 | 2009 | ||
| Exports fob, total | 322,326.6 | 341,248.5 | -27.4 |
| Marine products | 115,438.2 | 152,359.5 | -9.5 |
| Agricultural products | 3,670.0 | 5,124.5 | -4.2 |
| Manufacturing products | 164,826.0 | 169,382.2 | -29.5 |
| Other products | 38,392.4 | 14,382.2 | -74.3 |
| Imports fob, total | 366,873.7 | 297,497.1 | -44.4 |
| Food and beverages | 27,227.4 | 30,873.4 | -22.2 |
| Industrial supplies n.e.s. | 111,498.7 | 94,112.9 | -42.1 |
| Fuels and lubricants | 43,696.2 | 39,371.8 | -38.2 |
| Capital goods (except for transport) | 79,786.7 | 64,572.1 | -44.5 |
| Transport equipment | 54,214.2 | 23,072.0 | -70.8 |
| Consumer goods n.e.s. | 50,169.5 | 45,036.5 | -38.4 |
| Goods n.e.s. | 280.9 | 458.3 | 11.9 |
| Balance of trade | -44,547.1 | 43,751.4 | · |
¹ Based on trade-weighted index of average foreign currency prices in terms of ISK, change on previous year 45.8%. In September 2009, foreign currency prices were 36.4% higher than in September 2008.
Monthly figures of external trade for current year are revised together with the release of figures for new months. Annual figures are published in the first half of the year after the end of the reference year. The figures are considered as final at that point of time.
Statistics