Surplus on external trade in goods amounts to EUR 68 million in May, adjusted volume of exports falls by 1.7% and that of imports increases by 1.1% compared to April
In May 2021, the volume of exports rose by 33% and that of imports by 31% compared to the same period of the previous year. Compared to May 2019, the volume of external trade decreased by 0.4% in exports and increased by 6.0% in imports. The surplus was EUR 68 million, the balance declined by EUR 19 million compared to May 2020. Compared to April, the seasonally and working-day adjusted volume of exports decreased by 1.7% and that of imports rose by 1.1%.
In May 2021:
The value of exports amounted to EUR 9.5 billion (HUF 3,370 billion) and that of imports to EUR 9.4 billion (HUF 3,351 billion).
In May 2021 compared to a year earlier:
The value of exports was up by 39% and that of imports by 40% in EUR terms.
According to calendar-adjusted data, the volume of exports became 35% and that of imports 30% larger.
The balance of external trade in goods declined by EUR 19 million. (The surplus was EUR 29 million lower than that published in the first estimate.)
The forint (HUF) price level of external trade in goods rose by 5.5% in exports and by 8.0% in imports compared to the same month of the previous year. The terms of trade deteriorated by 2.3%. The forint exchange rate weakened by 0.9% against the euro and strengthened by 9.5% against the dollar.
Calculated at prices in May 2020, the exports of machinery and transport equipment grew by 50% and their imports by 58%. Exports of road vehicles increased by three quarters and their imports by nearly 2 times compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The volume of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by more than half on both the export and import side. A major contributor to growth was also the commodity group of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment, whose turnover was more than a third higher than in the same period of the previous year, both in exports and imports. Exports of general industrial machinery and equipment increased by more than a third and that of imports by more than a half. Exports of power-generating machinery and equipment increased by more than 60%, and that of imports by more than 70% compared to May 2020. Out of all main groups of commodities, the main contributor to the change in the volume of total trade was machinery and transport equipment, with 26 percentage points in the case of exports and with 25 percentage points in the case of imports.
The export volume of manufactured goods became 21% and their import volume 15% larger. Turnover growth was mainly influenced by the turnover of plastics in primary forms in exports and imports, and also by the turnover of professional, scientific and controlling instruments in exports. Manufactured goods increased the total change in volume by 7.1 percentage points in exports and by 6.6 percentage points in imports.
The export volume of fuels and electric energy became 30%, and their import volume 4.5% lower than in the same period of the previous year. Volumes are down on both sides, while current price data show an increase for all product groups, except for the fall in exports of natural and artificial gas, in line with the rise in price levels. Energy carriers reduced the rate of total turnover growth by 0.6 percentage points on the export side, and by 0.2 percentage points on the import side.
Exports of food, beverages and tobacco grew by 3.1% and their imports by 7.5%. Growth on both sides was driven mainly by the commodity group of feeding stuff for animals (without cereals) and meat and meat preparations, in addition, the increase on import side was also due to the changes in trade in vegetables and fruits. The volume change realised by the whole commodity group contributed 0.3 percentage points to the increase in total turnover on the export side and 0.5 percentage points to the increase on the import side.
The volume of exports to EU-27 Member States became 32% and the volume of imports from there 43% higher. The surplus on external trade in goods decreased by EUR 247 million and amounted to EUR 613 million. These countries accounted for 78% of exports and 72% of imports.
In extra-EU-27 trade, the volume of exports became 37% and that of imports 9.1% higher. The balance of external trade in goods with this group of countries improved by EUR 228 million and showed a deficit of EUR 545 million.
In January–May 2021:
The value of exports amounted to EUR 48.9 billion (HUF 17.6 thousand billion) and that of imports to EUR 45.9 billion (HUF 16.5 thousand billion).
In January–May 2021 compared to a year earlier:
The volume of exports rose by 21% and that of imports by 16%.
The surplus on the balance of external trade in goods increased by EUR 1.6 billion and amounted to EUR 3.0 billion.
The forint price level of external trade in goods was up by 5.4% for exports and by 6.4% for imports compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The terms of trade worsened by 0.9%. The forint depreciated by 4.3% against the euro and strengthened by 5.2 % against the dollar.
External trade in goods, January–May 2021
| Denomination | Exports | Imports | Balance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| value, at current prices | same period of previous year=100.0% | value, at current prices | same period of previous year=100.0% | value, at current prices | in same period of previous year | |
| Billion HUF | 17 595 | 127.5 | 16 520 | 123.9 | 1 075 | 462 |
| Million EUR | 48 863 | 121.3 | 45 867 | 117.9 | 2 996 | 1 372 |