A deficit of €521.7 million for registered trade in goods was recorded in July, according to provisional figures released by the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said the deficit for registered trade in goods in the same month a year ago was €300.8 million.

Imports amounted to €773.7 million, while exports totalled €252 million. This represented an increase of €221 million and €0.1 million, respectively, over the same month the previous year.

The rise in the value of imports was primarily due to machinery and transport equipment (€183.1 million). On the exports side, the main increase was registered in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€3.5 million). 

Total Trade in Goods: January-July 2021 

During the first seven months of the year, the total trade in goods deficit widened by €218.5 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2020, reaching €1,815.7 million.

Imports increased by €172.8 million, while exports decreased by €45.7 million, and amounted to €3,638.3 million and €1,822.6 million, respectively.

Higher imports were mainly recorded in machinery and transport equipment (€117.8 million) while mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€104.3 million) accounted for the main declines in exports.

Goods were imported mainly from the European Union (55%) and Asia (17.1%). Similarly, exports were mostly directed to the European Union (43.9%) and Asia (16.3%). The main increase and decrease in imports were registered from Ireland (€125.4 million) and China (€111.3 million), respectively.

With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to Italy (€41.9 million), whereas Germany reported the highest decrease (€67.6 million).