Exports declined 2.3 percent over the previous month to EUR 41.73 billion in September, mainly due to lower sales of mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (-1.8 percent), natural hydrocarbons, mining products, electricity (-3.5 percent), transport equipment (-8.3 percent), and art products (-5.8 percent). Meanwhile, sales rose for agribusiness products (7.1 percent), other industrial products (0.6 percent), agricultural, forestry, fishery and aquaculture products (7.1 percent) and refined petroleum products (31.3 percent).
Among major trade partners, exports fell to Germany (-1.7 percent), the UK (-9 percent), Switzerland (-0.9 percent),
Poland (-3.7 percent), Japan (-9.7 percent), Russia (-25.2 percent), Italy (-2.3 percent), Belgium (-1.7 percent), and China & Hong Kong (-3.5 percent); but increased to the US (0.8 percent), Spain (1.5 percent), the Netherlands (4.4 percent), Portugal (4.9 percent) and Turkey (4.4 percent).
Imports went down at a slower 1.8 percent to EUR 47.28 billion, as purchases dropped for transport equipment (-8.9 percent), agricultural, forestry, fishery and aquaculture products (-8.7 percent), agribusiness products (-1.4 percent), and natural hydrocarbons, mining products, electricity (-17.4 percent). On the other hand, imports increased for mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (2.2 percent) and refined petroleum products (1.8 percent).
Among major trade partners, imports decreased from Germany (-1.2 percent), Belgium (-4.4 percent), Spain (-1.5 percent), Russia (-25.3 percent), Czech Republic (-3.8 percent), Turkey (-2.4 percent) and Ireland (-10.5 percent); but went up from China & Hong Kong (1.1 percent), the US (5.5 percent), the UK (6.6 percent), Japan (1.2 percent), Italy (0.3 percent), the Netherlands (6.6 percent), and Switzerland (14.7 percent).