BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE AGENCY

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS

010101---12/201312/201312/2013

For further informa"on

Belgian Foreign Trade Agency Rue Montoyer 3 B-1000 Brussels

Belgium

Studies and sta"s"cs

Christelle Charlier

Director

�+32 2 206 35 78

christelle.charlier@abh-ace.be

Sammy Sioen

Sta�s�cs Administrator

�+32 2 206 35 63

sammy.sioen@abh-ace.be

Dennis Gijsbrechts

Sta�s�cs Administrator

�+32 2 206 35 73

dennis.gijsbrechts@abh-ace.be

David Leffler

Assistant

�+32 2 206 35 64 david.leffler@abh-ace.be

The figures in this brochure, provided by the Na"onal Bank of Belgium and processed by the Belgian

Foreign Trade Agency, are provisional results which have been par"ally rec"fied.

Due to rounding off and/or changes in real "me in the data base the totals in the various tables may

differ from the sum of the sec"ons (one digit a6er the comma).

The following sta"s"cal data are based upon the community concept and not upon the na"onal con-

cept that relies on the principle of economic residence. The community concept takes into considera"on

e.g. the import and export transac"ons carried out by VAT registered non-residents without the inter-

ven"on of residents. Returned goods are also taken into account.

Source: EUROSTAT

1

BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE

01-12/2013

EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE COVER

RATIO

X 1.000 €

01-12/2012 347.088.589,6 341.787.498,1 5.301.091,5 101,6

01-12/2013 353.466.203,5 339.361.503,6 14.104.699,9 104,2

% VARIATION

01-12/2013 - 01-12/2012 1,8 -0,7

PER CONTINENT EXPORTS IMPORTS COVER

X 1.000 € 01-12/2013 % Tot. 01-12/2013 % Tot. RATIO

Europe 268.397.242,2 75,9 249.537.610,5 73,5 107,6

Asia 37.032.896,3 10,5 45.635.244,4 13,4 81,2

America 28.132.483,4 8,0 33.900.853,8 10,0 83,0

Africa 13.101.696,9 3,7 8.315.299,9 2,5 157,6

Oceania 2.100.946,0 0,6 1.697.013,2 0,5 123,8

Others 4.700.938,8 1,3 275.481,9 0,1 1.706,4

TOTAL 353.466.203,5 100,0 339.361.503,6 100,0 104,2

Europe

75,9%

Asia

10,5%

America

8,0%

Africa

3,7%

Oceania

0,6%

Others

1,3%

EXPORTS PER CONTINENT

Europe

73,5%

Asia

13,4%

America

10,0%

Africa

2,5%

Oceania

0,5%

IMPORTS PER CONTINENT

X 1.000 € EXPORTS VAR. TOT.

01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % %

GERMANY 60.542.208,8 59.744.817,6 -1,3 16,9

FRANCE 53.886.840,3 55.222.763,2 2,5 15,6

NETHERLANDS 43.357.572,3 43.413.008,6 0,1 12,3

UNITED KINGDOM 24.510.871,0 26.541.101,6 8,3 7,5

U.S.A. 20.539.587,4 18.136.507,6 -11,7 5,1

ITALY 14.907.604,5 15.551.698,0 4,3 4,4

SPAIN 8.163.296,5 8.495.968,3 4,1 2,4

INDIA 7.945.699,9 7.905.999,8 -0,5 2,2

CHINA 7.641.397,4 7.222.464,8 -5,5 2,0

LUXEMBOURG 6.022.446,1 5.999.598,4 -0,4 1,7

POLAND 5.414.543,8 5.740.032,6 6,0 1,6

RUSSIA 5.419.474,2 5.117.479,4 -5,6 1,5

SWITZERLAND 5.458.383,2 4.931.721,9 -9,7 1,4

SWEDEN 4.835.401,6 4.927.513,0 1,9 1,4

TURKEY 4.553.549,5 4.655.080,3 2,2 1,3

JAPAN 3.805.847,7 3.491.932,7 -8,3 1,0

AUSTRIA 3.273.897,5 3.439.544,4 5,1 1,0

BRAZIL 2.684.650,4 3.348.439,3 24,7 1,0

U.A.E 2.409.913,0 3.246.752,3 34,7 0,9

CZECH REP. 2.695.233,3 2.712.010,2 0,6 0,8

Belgium’s top 20 customers

2

X 1.000 € IMPORTS VAR. TOT.

01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % %

NETHERLANDS 70.363.924,2 69.496.179,4 -1,2 20,5

GERMANY 48.115.894,5 45.758.466,1 -4,9 13,5

FRANCE 35.754.702,3 35.812.759,2 0,2 10,6

U.S.A. 21.786.234,4 23.723.314,8 8,9 7,0

UNITED KINGDOM 18.570.702,0 17.888.049,0 -3,7 5,3

CHINA 13.573.344,1 13.002.786,3 -4,2 3,8

IRELAND 14.811.985,3 11.822.450,8 -20,2 3,5

ITALY 10.235.979,3 10.556.415,2 3,1 3,1

RUSSIA 8.514.963,1 9.951.473,8 16,9 2,9

JAPAN 7.325.778,9 7.137.554,6 -2,6 2,1

SWEDEN 6.814.314,4 6.893.140,0 1,2 2,0

SPAIN 6.415.646,0 6.524.468,9 1,7 1,9

NORWAY 5.204.354,8 6.239.124,2 19,9 1,8

INDIA 4.239.396,8 4.143.353,3 -2,3 1,2

SINGAPORE 4.077.832,1 3.883.328,3 -4,8 1,1

SWITZERLAND 3.939.919,0 3.872.940,6 -1,7 1,1

POLAND 3.004.538,9 3.351.327,9 11,5 1,0

TURKEY 3.119.293,9 3.216.280,7 3,1 1,0

CZECH REP. 3.012.803,7 3.131.848,0 4,0 0,9

CANADA 1.745.729,1 2.590.143,4 48,4 0,8

Belgium’s top 20 suppliers

3

Chemical products

23,4%

Mineral products

13,5%

Machinery and equipment

10,3%Transport equipment

9,9%Plastics

8,2%

Base metals

7,3%

Foodstuffs

4,8%

Precious metals and stones

4,7%

Textiles

3,2%

Others

14,6%

BELGIUM'S TOP EXPORT SECTIONS

Belgium’s export sec"ons

4

BELGIAN EXPORTS DECEMBER VAR. JANUARY-DECEMBER VAR. % TOT.

SECTIONS x 1.000 € 2012 2013 % 2012 2013 % 2013

Chemical products 5.670.681,9 5.843.071,1 3,0 81.836.346,0 82.784.813,8 1,2 23,4

Mineral products 3.519.442,8 3.758.829,9 6,8 42.067.760,8 47.564.711,9 13,1 13,5

Machinery and equipment 2.962.928,3 3.129.034,7 5,6 38.110.948,8 36.344.339,6 -4,6 10,3

Transport equipment 2.346.299,9 3.016.048,3 28,5 34.005.075,4 34.921.826,8 2,7 9,9

Plastics 1.898.935,2 1.932.467,9 1,8 28.623.432,6 28.877.698,1 0,9 8,2

Base metals 1.676.881,8 1.708.613,5 1,9 27.629.064,5 25.844.060,9 -6,5 7,3

Foodstuffs 1.288.763,8 1.358.032,7 5,4 16.322.575,5 16.827.389,2 3,1 4,8

Precious metals and stones 1.601.598,7 1.528.857,8 -4,5 18.246.980,3 16.642.365,4 -8,8 4,7

Textiles 753.211,0 843.179,0 11,9 10.952.208,8 11.346.058,4 3,6 3,2

Optical instruments 743.181,7 888.398,6 19,5 9.117.998,8 9.580.921,4 5,1 2,7

Vegetable products 676.956,7 627.520,2 -7,3 8.064.836,0 8.007.271,5 -0,7 2,3

Live animals 583.423,5 641.748,8 10,0 7.245.867,7 7.507.551,7 3,6 2,1

Paper and paperboard 424.986,8 390.788,0 -8,0 5.509.219,3 5.249.273,4 -4,7 1,5

Non-classified articles 224.790,4 310.046,6 37,9 2.838.303,0 5.206.248,5 83,4 1,5

Miscellaneous manufactured articles 332.186,6 340.938,9 2,6 4.321.526,9 4.363.082,0 1,0 1,2

Footwear, headgear and umbrellas 211.815,7 270.122,0 27,5 3.530.223,1 3.725.279,3 5,5 1,1

Stone. Plaster. Cement. 203.808,4 202.841,9 -0,5 3.338.042,0 3.334.801,9 -0,1 0,9

Wood and articles of wood 117.748,8 131.751,4 11,9 2.018.679,2 2.000.702,5 -0,9 0,6

Fats and oils 114.308,2 119.638,7 4,7 1.659.292,8 1.611.810,6 -2,9 0,5

Raw hides and skins, leather 91.911,1 100.553,7 9,4 1.126.375,9 1.208.314,9 7,3 0,3

Arms and ammunition 47.318,1 38.785,2 -18,0 366.989,8 431.851,8 17,7 0,1

Works of art 20.999,0 7.672,9 -63,5 157.055,8 86.045,3 -45,2 0,0

TOTAL 25.512.160,2 27.188.923,9 6,6 347.088.589,6 353.466.203,5 1,8 100,0

Chemical products

20,0%

Mineral products

19,7%

Machinery and equipment

11,6%Transport equipment

10,5%

Base metals

6,6%

Plastics

5,3%

Precious metals and stones

4,8%

Foodstuffs

3,7%

Vegetable products

3,0%

Others

14,7%

BELGIUM'S TOP IMPORT SECTIONS

Belgium’s import sec"ons

5

BELGIAN IMPORTS DECEMBER VAR. JANUARY-DECEMBER VAR. % TOT.

SECTIONS x 1.000 € 2012 2013 % 2012 2013 % 2013

Chemical products 5.075.426,6 4.839.043,8 -4,7 69.116.265,3 67.737.023,2 -2,0 20,0

Mineral products 5.438.374,8 5.664.847,2 4,2 63.436.435,7 66.686.075,5 5,1 19,7

Machinery and equipment 3.336.512,7 3.385.085,1 1,5 41.662.490,1 39.530.983,0 -5,1 11,6

Transport equipment 2.620.045,2 2.774.042,2 5,9 35.327.553,8 35.651.226,4 0,9 10,5

Base metals 1.778.665,1 1.653.663,2 -7,0 24.276.213,3 22.396.082,9 -7,7 6,6

Plastics 1.301.102,2 1.407.205,2 8,2 18.078.271,8 18.124.201,2 0,3 5,3

Precious metals and stones 1.077.774,3 1.168.421,2 8,4 16.877.654,3 16.231.595,0 -3,8 4,8

Foodstuffs 1.007.146,8 1.095.244,2 8,7 12.057.081,4 12.464.502,3 3,4 3,7

Vegetable products 862.191,9 758.245,1 -12,1 10.363.061,3 10.132.970,4 -2,2 3,0

Textiles 716.583,4 702.736,1 -1,9 9.819.250,0 9.769.297,3 -0,5 2,9

Optical instruments 740.399,4 839.224,4 13,3 8.850.147,3 9.188.462,3 3,8 2,7

Live animals 540.352,6 615.848,4 14,0 6.213.554,9 6.530.702,9 5,1 1,9

Paper and paperboard 437.599,3 428.187,1 -2,2 5.798.957,6 5.494.849,3 -5,2 1,6

Miscellaneous manufactured articles 417.016,6 414.903,9 -0,5 5.339.291,3 5.448.810,7 2,1 1,6

Non-classified articles 234.169,0 423.488,3 80,8 3.685.869,3 3.042.671,8 -17,5 0,9

Stone, Plaster, Cement 200.953,0 204.651,5 1,8 2.859.590,4 2.831.746,2 -1,0 0,8

Footwear, headgear and umbrellas 177.612,4 190.482,3 7,2 2.591.823,7 2.714.980,9 4,8 0,8

Wood and articles of wood 151.759,5 159.063,2 4,8 2.352.829,0 2.249.227,5 -4,4 0,7

Fats and oils 133.778,9 139.856,1 4,5 1.793.636,7 1.827.890,4 1,9 0,5

Raw hides and skins, leather 81.591,0 78.388,8 -3,9 1.031.711,6 1.037.721,6 0,6 0,3

Arms and ammunition 7.129,7 13.605,9 90,8 139.804,9 137.595,5 -1,6 0,0

Works of art 7.174,5 9.537,6 32,9 116.130,0 133.016,3 14,5 0,0

TOTAL 26.343.348,3 26.965.760,5 2,4 341.787.498,1 339.361.503,6 -0,7 100,0

Belgian foreign trade within & outside the EU

6-7

X 1.000 € EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE

01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % VAR. % TOT. 01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % VAR. % TOT. 01-12/2012 01-12/2013

EU

EURO AREA COUNTRIES 198.660.569,0 200.446.875,0 0,9 56,7 195.279.618,7 189.467.930,3 -3,0 55,8 3.380.950,3 10.978.944,6

FRANCE 53.886.840,3 55.222.763,2 2,5 15,6 35.754.702,3 35.812.759,2 0,2 10,6 18.132.138,0 19.410.004,0

LUXEMBOURG 6.022.446,1 5.999.598,4 -0,4 1,7 2.385.750,8 2.295.269,9 -3,8 0,7 3.636.695,4 3.704.328,5

NETHERLANDS 43.357.572,3 43.413.008,6 0,1 12,3 70.363.924,2 69.496.179,4 -1,2 20,5 -27.006.351,8 -26.083.170,8

GERMANY 60.542.208,8 59.744.817,6 -1,3 16,9 48.115.894,5 45.758.466,1 -4,9 13,5 12.426.314,3 13.986.351,5

ITALY 14.907.604,5 15.551.698,0 4,3 4,4 10.235.979,3 10.556.415,2 3,1 3,1 4.671.625,3 4.995.282,8

IRELAND 1.471.047,6 1.632.024,2 10,9 0,5 14.811.985,3 11.822.450,8 -20,2 3,5 -13.340.937,6 -10.190.426,7

GREECE 1.305.237,1 1.252.926,7 -4,0 0,4 363.521,4 315.437,6 -13,2 0,1 941.715,7 937.489,1

PORTUGAL 1.633.304,3 1.642.524,2 0,6 0,5 1.620.998,6 1.438.340,5 -11,3 0,4 12.305,7 204.183,7

SPAIN 8.163.296,5 8.495.968,3 4,1 2,4 6.415.646,0 6.524.468,9 1,7 1,9 1.747.650,5 1.971.499,4

FINLAND 2.038.429,1 1.950.539,5 -4,3 0,6 1.802.720,0 1.983.006,8 10,0 0,6 235.709,1 -32.467,2

AUSTRIA 3.273.897,5 3.439.544,4 5,1 1,0 1.982.823,3 2.018.105,6 1,8 0,6 1.291.074,1 1.421.438,7

SLOVENIA 479.309,5 511.069,4 6,6 0,1 188.476,4 179.080,5 -5,0 0,1 290.833,1 331.988,9

CYPRUS 219.226,3 203.396,6 -7,2 0,1 121.606,3 142.896,7 17,5 0,0 97.620,0 60.500,0

MALTA 108.954,8 140.292,1 28,8 0,0 81.731,3 43.851,6 -46,3 0,0 27.223,5 96.440,5

SLOVAKIA 916.647,5 928.019,0 1,2 0,3 839.174,9 845.484,4 0,8 0,2 77.472,7 82.534,6

ESTONIA 334.546,8 318.684,8 -4,7 0,1 194.684,3 235.717,2 21,1 0,1 139.862,6 82.967,7

OTHER EU COUNTRIES 44.390.534,1 47.174.452,1 6,3 13,3 35.664.774,5 35.550.870,3 -0,3 10,5 8.725.759,6 11.623.581,7

UNITED KINGDOM 24.510.871,0 26.541.101,6 8,3 7,5 18.570.702,0 17.888.049,0 -3,7 5,3 5.940.169,0 8.653.052,6

DENMARK 2.438.705,2 2.461.380,1 0,9 0,7 1.099.068,2 1.134.183,4 3,2 0,3 1.339.637,0 1.327.196,8

SWEDEN 4.835.401,6 4.927.513,0 1,9 1,4 6.814.314,4 6.893.140,0 1,2 2,0 -1.978.912,8 -1.965.627,1

LATVIA 259.762,0 286.048,0 10,1 0,1 126.804,6 165.079,1 30,2 0,0 132.957,4 120.968,8

LITHUANIA 806.185,0 888.373,9 10,2 0,3 305.739,2 316.267,4 3,4 0,1 500.445,8 572.106,5

POLAND 5.414.543,8 5.740.032,6 6,0 1,6 3.004.538,9 3.351.327,9 11,5 1,0 2.410.004,9 2.388.704,7

CZECH REPUBLIC 2.695.233,3 2.712.010,2 0,6 0,8 3.012.803,7 3.131.848,0 4,0 0,9 -317.570,4 -419.837,8

HUNGARY 1.664.206,8 1.733.808,5 4,2 0,5 1.198.261,1 1.186.121,4 -1,0 0,3 465.945,8 547.687,0

ROMANIA 1.087.114,9 1.187.929,7 9,3 0,3 614.850,1 763.069,6 24,1 0,2 472.264,7 424.860,1

BULGARIA 448.506,4 496.733,8 10,8 0,1 840.702,5 660.339,3 -21,5 0,2 -392.196,1 -163.605,5

CROATIA 230.004,1 199.520,9 -13,3 0,1 76.990,0 61.445,3 -20,2 0,0 153.014,1 138.075,6

TOTAL EU 243.051.103,1 247.621.327,0 1,9 70,1 230.944.393,2 225.018.800,7 -2,6 66,3 12.106.709,9 22.602.526,4

EUROPE OUTSIDE THE EU 19.983.725,1 20.775.915,2 4,0 5,9 22.104.647,9 24.518.809,9 10,9 7,2 -2.120.922,8 -3.742.894,7

ICELAND 57.576,7 60.176,0 4,5 0,0 64.264,9 53.067,7 -17,4 0,0 -6.688,2 7.108,3

NORWAY 1.721.834,1 1.848.419,0 7,4 0,5 5.204.354,8 6.239.124,2 19,9 1,8 -3.482.520,7 -4.390.705,2

SWITZERLAND 5.458.383,2 4.931.721,9 -9,6 1,4 3.939.919,0 3.872.940,6 -1,7 1,1 1.518.464,3 1.058.781,3

TURKEY 4.553.549,5 4.655.080,3 2,2 1,3 3.119.293,9 3.216.280,7 3,1 0,9 1.434.255,6 1.438.799,5

UKRAINE 876.652,4 774.095,3 -11,7 0,2 361.184,4 339.665,0 -6,0 0,1 515.468,1 434.430,4

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 5.419.474,2 5.117.479,4 -5,6 1,4 8.514.963,1 9.951.473,8 16,9 2,9 -3.095.488,9 -4.833.994,4

OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 1.896.255,1 3.388.943,3 78,7 1,0 900.667,9 846.258,0 -6,0 0,2 995.587,1 2.542.685,4

TOTAL EUROPE 263.034.828,2 268.397.242,2 2,0 75,9 253.049.041,1 249.537.610,5 -1,4 73,5 9.985.787,1 18.859.631,7

X 1.000 € EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE

01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % VAR. % TOT. 01-12/2012 01-12/2013 % VAR. % TOT. 01-12/2012 01-12/2013

EUROPE 263.034.828,2 268.397.242,2 2,0 75,9 253.049.041,1 249.537.610,5 -1,4 73,5 9.985.787,1 18.859.631,7

AFRICA 11.575.547,7 13.101.696,9 13,2 3,7 8.934.652,1 8.315.299,9 -6,9 2,5 2.640.895,6 4.786.397,0

ALGERIA 1.073.806,7 1.074.381,2 0,1 0,3 1.935.632,5 1.555.501,2 -19,6 0,5 -861.825,8 -481.119,9

TUNISIA 408.321,5 368.368,7 -9,8 0,1 379.870,9 307.234,2 -19,1 0,1 28.450,5 61.134,5

MOROCCO 828.410,1 801.616,5 -3,2 0,2 636.822,7 772.933,0 21,4 0,2 191.587,4 28.683,5

IVORY COAST 230.048,3 226.140,2 -1,7 0,1 305.970,5 380.969,3 24,5 0,1 -75.922,2 -154.829,1

NIGERIA 1.484.871,0 2.013.883,1 35,6 0,6 70.695,6 73.481,3 3,9 0,0 1.414.175,4 1.940.401,8

EGYPT 1.329.672,5 1.239.716,3 -6,8 0,4 297.968,5 298.223,0 0,1 0,1 1.031.704,0 941.493,3

CONGO (DEM. REP.) 350.710,6 338.456,9 -3,5 0,1 283.963,0 227.000,5 -20,1 0,1 66.747,6 111.456,5

ANGOLA 439.735,8 359.699,2 -18,2 0,1 463.380,7 407.726,0 -12,0 0,1 -23.644,8 -48.026,8

CAMEROON 236.246,8 304.644,5 29,0 0,1 171.520,9 160.382,1 -6,5 0,0 64.725,9 144.262,4

SENEGAL 396.014,6 414.244,5 4,6 0,1 33.715,1 23.134,0 -31,4 0,0 362.299,5 391.110,4

SOUTH AFRICA 1.748.000,9 1.497.372,8 -14,3 0,4 1.894.018,2 1.619.230,1 -14,5 0,5 -146.017,3 -121.857,3

GHANA 287.187,6 520.082,7 81,1 0,1 178.065,8 157.670,4 -11,5 0,0 109.121,8 362.412,4

KENYA 148.081,2 122.352,7 -17,4 0,0 42.021,5 40.917,3 -2,6 0,0 106.059,7 81.435,4

LIBYA 244.799,6 231.076,7 -5,6 0,1 54.146,8 44.225,0 -18,3 0,0 190.652,8 186.851,8

OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES 2.369.640,4 3.589.660,8 51,5 1,0 2.186.859,4 2.246.672,6 2,7 0,7 182.781,0 1.342.988,2

AMERICA 29.001.424,1 28.132.483,4 -3,0 8,0 31.826.894,0 33.900.853,8 6,5 10,0 -2.825.469,9 -5.768.370,4

U.S.A. 20.539.587,4 18.136.507,6 -11,7 5,1 21.786.234,4 23.723.314,8 8,9 7,0 -1.246.647,0 -5.586.807,1

CANADA 1.996.407,8 2.372.206,5 18,8 0,7 1.745.729,1 2.590.143,4 48,4 0,8 250.678,7 -217.936,8

MEXICO 1.166.630,7 1.056.059,3 -9,5 0,3 1.491.548,0 1.428.396,6 -4,2 0,4 -324.917,3 -372.337,3

COLOMBIA 350.838,6 375.622,1 7,1 0,1 555.064,1 488.890,7 -11,9 0,1 -204.225,5 -113.268,7

VENEZUELA 362.382,2 270.667,3 -25,3 0,1 457.669,3 268.182,9 -41,4 0,1 -95.287,1 2.484,4

BRAZIL 2.684.650,4 3.348.439,3 24,7 0,9 2.530.966,7 2.368.667,3 -6,4 0,7 153.683,7 979.771,9

CHILE 479.374,0 470.352,1 -1,9 0,1 914.629,2 795.130,5 -13,1 0,2 -435.255,2 -324.778,4

ARGENTINA 462.569,9 1.015.324,0 119,5 0,3 378.230,1 234.303,0 -38,1 0,1 84.339,9 781.021,0

PERU 215.902,3 260.793,9 20,8 0,1 469.720,1 468.428,9 -0,3 0,1 -253.817,8 -207.635,1

CUBA 35.532,1 45.608,1 28,4 0,0 69.207,6 111.708,3 61,4 0,0 -33.675,5 -66.100,1

OTHER AMERICAN COUNTRIES 707.548,7 780.903,2 10,4 0,2 1.427.895,4 1.423.687,4 -0,3 0,4 -720.346,7 -642.784,2

ASIA 37.063.051,2 37.032.896,3 -0,1 10,5 45.947.511,7 45.635.244,4 -0,7 13,4 -8.884.460,5 -8.602.348,1

LEBANON 307.781,8 377.663,9 22,7 0,1 92.447,0 57.156,9 -38,2 0,0 215.334,7 320.506,9

IRAN 313.224,9 239.938,1 -23,4 0,1 204.091,4 73.177,2 -64,1 0,0 109.133,6 166.760,9

ISRAEL 2.163.711,9 2.099.688,5 -3,0 0,6 1.697.544,8 1.685.923,6 -0,7 0,5 466.167,2 413.764,9

SAUDI ARABIA 1.578.122,9 1.829.890,0 16,0 0,5 1.335.568,3 1.561.181,9 16,9 0,5 242.554,6 268.708,1

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2.409.913,0 3.246.752,3 34,7 0,9 2.458.280,3 2.433.636,7 -1,0 0,7 -48.367,3 813.115,6

PAKISTAN 299.976,4 357.736,1 19,3 0,1 305.442,9 322.011,8 5,4 0,1 -5.466,5 35.724,4

SYRIA 95.241,1 50.696,7 -46,8 0,0 8.089,4 3.940,8 -51,3 0,0 87.151,7 46.756,0

KUWAIT 198.426,6 164.085,3 -17,3 0,0 105.282,0 145.367,5 38,1 0,0 93.144,6 18.717,8

INDIA 7.945.699,9 7.905.999,8 -0,5 2,2 4.239.396,8 4.143.353,3 -2,3 1,2 3.706.303,2 3.762.646,5

SRI LANKA 280.125,0 169.027,8 -39,7 0,0 437.126,9 341.383,2 -21,9 0,1 -157.001,9 -172.355,4

THAILAND 968.638,7 1.023.426,5 5,7 0,3 1.291.095,2 1.364.071,8 5,7 0,4 -322.456,5 -340.645,3

VIETNAM 279.603,4 369.262,3 32,1 0,1 1.007.387,8 1.105.320,8 9,7 0,3 -727.784,3 -736.058,5

INDONESIA 506.930,3 462.120,8 -8,8 0,1 1.120.054,2 1.097.064,5 -2,1 0,3 -613.124,0 -634.943,8

MALAYSIA 477.714,6 606.440,5 26,9 0,2 628.819,5 704.029,6 12,0 0,2 -151.104,9 -97.589,1

SINGAPORE 1.265.359,8 1.222.263,3 -3,4 0,3 4.077.832,1 3.883.328,3 -4,8 1,1 -2.812.472,3 -2.661.065,0

PHILIPPINES 268.366,9 266.575,5 -0,7 0,1 163.720,3 132.852,3 -18,9 0,0 104.646,5 133.723,2

CHINA 7.641.397,4 7.222.464,8 -5,5 2,0 13.573.344,1 13.002.786,3 -4,2 3,8 -5.931.946,7 -5.780.321,5

SOUTH KOREA 1.679.109,1 1.353.392,6 -19,4 0,4 1.505.345,0 2.054.957,3 36,5 0,6 173.764,0 -701.564,7

JAPAN 3.805.847,7 3.491.932,7 -8,2 1,0 7.325.778,9 7.137.554,6 -2,6 2,1 -3.519.931,2 -3.645.621,9

TAIWAN 807.711,6 705.113,4 -12,7 0,2 782.180,8 852.748,3 9,0 0,3 25.530,8 -147.635,0

HONG KONG 2.356.877,0 2.374.602,7 0,8 0,7 1.029.247,4 1.106.796,2 7,5 0,3 1.327.629,7 1.267.806,5

JORDAN 185.638,2 196.226,2 5,7 0,1 14.205,6 20.647,8 45,3 0,0 171.432,6 175.578,5

OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES 1.227.633,0 1.297.596,6 5,7 0,4 2.545.231,3 2.405.953,8 -5,5 0,7 -1.317.598,3 -1.108.357,2

OCEANIA 2.104.586,2 2.100.946,0 -0,2 0,6 2.029.089,2 1.697.013,2 -16,4 0,5 75.497,0 403.932,8

AUSTRALIA 1.834.294,5 1.823.207,4 -0,6 0,5 1.680.593,4 1.322.481,7 -21,3 0,4 153.701,1 500.725,7

NEW ZEALAND 192.968,5 208.947,8 8,3 0,1 249.886,9 272.046,3 8,9 0,1 -56.918,4 -63.098,5

OTHER OCEANIAN COUNTRIES 77.323,3 68.790,8 -11,0 0,0 98.609,0 102.485,1 3,9 0,0 -21.285,7 -33.694,4

MISCELLANEOUS 4.309.152,1 4.700.938,8 9,1 1,3 310,0 275.481,9 88.765,1 0,1 4.308.842,1 4.425.456,9

TOTAL 347.088.589,6 353.466.203,5 1,8 100,0 341.787.498,1 339.361.503,6 -0,7 100,0 5.301.091,5 14.104.699,9

81%

19%

DELIVERIES

84%

16%

PURCHASES

EURO AREA

OUTSIDE THE EURO AREA

Movement of goods within the EU in 2013

JANUARY-DECEMBER

8

0

10.000.000

20.000.000

30.000.000

40.000.000

50.000.000

60.000.000

70.000.000

x 1

.000

€

EURO AREA

DELIVERIES PURCHASES

0

5.000.000

10.000.000

15.000.000

20.000.000

25.000.000

30.000.000

x 1

.00

0 €

OUTSIDE THE EURO AREA

DELIVERIES PURCHASES

Comparison deliveries-purchases in 2013

JANUARY-DECEMBER

9

0

10.000.000

20.000.000

30.000.000

40.000.000

50.000.000

60.000.000

70.000.000

x 1

.00

0 €

EVOLUTION OF THE DELIVERIES IN THE EURO AREA

01-12/2012 01-12/2013

0

10.000.000

20.000.000

30.000.000

40.000.000

50.000.000

60.000.000

70.000.000

80.000.000

x 1

.00

0 €

EVOLUTION OF THE PURCHASES IN THE EURO AREA

01-12/2012 01-12/2013

Movement of goods within the euro area countries

10

0

5.000.000

10.000.000

15.000.000

20.000.000

25.000.000

30.000.000

x 1

.00

0 €

EVOLUTION OF THE DELIVERIES OUTSIDE THE EURO AREA

01-12/2012 01-12/2013

0

2.000.000

4.000.000

6.000.000

8.000.000

10.000.000

12.000.000

14.000.000

16.000.000

18.000.000

20.000.000

x 1

.00

0 €

EVOLUTION OF THE PURCHASES OUTSIDE THE EURO AREA

01-12/2012 01-12/2013

Movement of goods within the EU but outside

the euro area

11

01-12/2012 01-12/201301-12/2013 -

01-12/201201-12/2012 01-12/2013

01-12/2013 -

01-12/201201-12/2012 01-12/2013

MONTHS EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE

QUARTERS % %

JANUARY 27.278.435,6 28.595.305,1 4,8 27.458.951,8 28.834.215,7 5,0 -180.516,2 -238.910,6

FEBRUARY 29.587.543,0 28.210.140,7 -4,7 28.751.366,1 28.275.496,7 -1,7 836.176,9 -65.356,0

MARCH 32.726.304,8 31.059.781,9 -5,1 31.559.792,3 31.204.572,2 -1,1 1.166.512,5 -144.790,3

1st QUARTER 89.592.283,4 87.865.227,6 -1,9 87.770.110,1 88.314.284,5 0,6 1.822.173,3 -449.056,9

APRIL 28.698.919,7 30.385.950,8 5,9 27.729.535,7 29.506.770,2 6,4 969.383,9 879.180,6

MAY 29.325.648,8 30.286.558,3 3,3 29.012.443,2 28.643.215,1 -1,3 313.205,6 1.643.343,2

JUNE 29.950.020,9 28.597.853,9 -4,5 28.734.091,0 27.611.035,1 -3,9 1.215.929,9 986.818,8

2nd QUARTER 87.974.589,4 89.270.362,9 1,5 85.476.069,9 85.761.020,4 0,3 2.498.519,5 3.509.342,6

6 MONTHS 177.566.872,8 177.135.590,6 -0,2 173.246.180,0 174.075.304,9 0,5 4.320.692,8 3.060.285,7

JULY 28.961.642,8 31.246.945,1 7,9 27.884.808,9 27.921.597,6 0,1 1.076.834,0 3.325.347,4

AUGUST 26.897.562,3 25.489.963,4 -5,2 26.962.482,8 24.961.444,4 -7,4 -64.920,5 528.519,1

SEPTEMBER 28.074.350,5 31.003.647,9 10,4 26.843.472,0 27.932.331,8 4,1 1.230.878,5 3.071.316,2

3rd QUARTER 83.933.555,6 87.740.556,4 4,5 81.690.763,7 80.815.373,8 -1,1 2.242.792,0 6.925.182,7

9 MONTHS 261.500.428,5 264.876.147,0 1,3 254.936.943,7 254.890.678,7 0,0 6.563.484,8 9.985.468,3

OCTOBER 30.351.810,4 31.666.458,7 4,3 29.863.540,8 29.734.169,9 -0,4 488.269,6 1.932.288,8

NOVEMBER 29.724.190,5 29.734.674,0 0,0 30.643.665,3 27.770.894,6 -9,4 -919.474,8 1.963.779,4

DECEMBER 25.512.160,2 27.188.923,9 6,6 26.343.348,3 26.965.760,5 2,4 -831.188,1 223.163,4

4th QUARTER 85.588.161,1 88.590.056,6 3,5 86.850.554,4 84.470.825,0 -2,7 -1.262.393,3 4.119.231,6

12 MONTHS 347.088.589,6 353.466.203,5 1,8 341.787.498,1 339.361.503,6 -0,7 5.301.091,4 14.104.699,9

X 1.000 € X 1.000 € X 1.000 €

Monthly evolu"on of Belgium’s trade

12

Analysis of the figures for the year 2013

In 2013 Belgian exports increased by 1.8%, rising from EUR 347.1 billion to EUR 353.5 billion.

Belgian imports evolved in the opposite direc�on. Between 2012 and 2013 Belgian purchases abroad

decreased by 0.7%, from EUR 341.8 billion to EUR 339.4 billion.

Belgium’s balance of trade is posi�ve and increased from EUR 5.3 billion in 2012 to EUR 14.1 billion in

2013.

1. Exports

1.1. Geographical developments

1.1.1. Europe

In 2013, Belgian deliveries to the Member States of the European Union increased by 1.9%, whereas a

year earlier they had fallen by 1.2%.

While Belgian exports of goods to the countries of the euro area only rose slightly last year, deliveries to

the countries that do not belong to the euro area rose sharply. The relevant evolu�ons were as follows:

+0.9% in 2013 compared with -1.9% in 2012 for the first group of countries, and

+6.3% in 2013 compared with +1.8% in 2012 for the second group of countries.

Euro area countries

In 2013, the best export performances were achieved in Malta (+28.8%), Ireland (+10.9%), Slovenia

(+6.6%) and Austria (+5.1%).

Exports of goods to Greece, where the repercussions of the economic and financial crisis are s�ll being

felt, fell further by 4.0% in 2013. Exports to Italy, Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, seem to have

climbed out of a nega�ve spiral, since last year increases of 4.3%, 4.1% and 0.6% respec�vely were record-

ed.

Other EU member countries

Thanks to the good results in, among others, Bulgaria (+10.8%), Lithuania (+10.2%), Latvia (+10.1%), Ro-

mania (+9.3%) and the United Kingdom (+8.3%), total Belgian exports to the countries that do not belong

to the euro area rose by 6.3% in 2013, unaffected by the decline in exports to Croa�a (-13.3%).

1.1.2. Intercon"nental expor"ng

Developments recorded in intercon�nental exports vary considerably. While exports to Africa rose in

2013, those to America, Asia and Oceania fell. This is shown below: Africa: +13.2% in 2013 compared to +17.7% in 2012; America: -3.0% in 2013 compared to +16.2% in 2012;

Asia: -0.1% in 2013 compared to +3.3% in 2012 and Oceania: -0.2% in 2013 compared to +4.2% in 2012.

Where Africa is concerned, deliveries to, among others, Libya (-5.6%), Egypt (-6.8%), Tunisia (-9.8%), South

Africa (-14.3%), Kenya (-17.4%) and Angola (-18.2%) fell. Conversely, there was an increase in exports to,

among others, Ghana (+81.1%), Nigeria (+35.6%) and Cameroon (+29.0%).

In America, however, Belgian exporters saw exports fall. The 3.0% drop in total exports to this con�nent in

2013 was mainly due to falling sales to the United States (-11.7%), Mexico (-9.5%), Chile (-1.9%) and Vene-

zuela (-25.3%). The strong performances in Argen�na (+119.5%), Cuba (+28.4%), Brazil (+24.7%), Peru

(+20.8%), Canada (+18.8%) and Colombia (+7.1%) were unable to alter this.

Exports from Belgium to Asia increased in par�cular in the UAE (+34.7%), Vietnam (+32.1%), Malaysia

(+26.9%), Lebanon (+22.7%), Pakistan (+19.3%) and Saudi Arabia (+16.0%). Belgian exports also fell in,

among others, Japan (-8.2%), Taiwan (-12.7%), Kuwait (-17.3%), South Korea (-19.4%), Iran (-23.4%), Sri

Lanka (-39.7%) and Syria (-46.8%). Despite the fact that Asia remains Belgium’s most important market

outside Europe, exports to this con�nent s�ll fell slightly in 2013 (-0.1%). The general result for Oceania was also nega�ve. Total exports to the con�nent fell by 0.2% in 2013

(compared with +4.2% in 2012). AJer a 5.9% increase in 2012, sales to Australia fell by 0.6% in 2013. Ex-

ports to New Zealand rose by 8.3% during this period.

Belgium’s foreign trade in 2013

(Source: NBB – Community concept)

13

1.1.3. Market shares

The European Union remains by far the largest trade partner of Belgium. From 2012 to 2013, the EU

share increased very slightly, from 70.0% to 70.1%. The trend of recent years, which saw a drop in the EU

share in favour of emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was thus

somewhat reversed last year.

Euro area countries currently account for 56.7% of Belgian exports, compared with 57.2% in 2012. The

share of the other EU countries rose from 12.7% to 13.3%.

A few slight varia�ons should be noted for Belgium’s four largest customers:

- Germany’s share fell from 17.4% to 16.9%,

- France’s share remained the same at 15.6%,

- the Netherlands’ share fell from 12.5% to 12.3%,

- the United Kingdom’s rose from 7.1% to 7.5%.

The share of European countries outside the European Union rose from 5.8% in 2012 to 5.9% in 2013.

The share of Belgian exports of goods to the different con�nents evolved as follows in 2013 compared

with a year earlier: from 5.5% in 2011 to 5.8% in 2012. From 2011 to 2012 Belgian foreign trade shares

for the different con�nents evolved as follows: Africa: 3.7% in 2013 compared to 3.3% in 2012; America:

8.0% in 2013 compared to 8.4% in 2012; Asia: 10.5% in 2013 compared to 10.7% in 2012; Oceania: share

remained unchanged at 0.6%.

1.2. Sectoral developments

The chemical products sec�on was s�ll responsible for the lion’s share of total Belgian exports with

23.4%. Exports for this group of products rose by 1.2% from 2012 to 2013.

Mineral products took second place, accoun�ng for 13.5% of total Belgian exports, which increased by

13.1% for this product group as opposed to a surge of 8.3% the previous year. The increase in exports of

this sec�on can largely be aMributed to the sub-shares for “petroleum oils or bituminous minerals” and

“petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons”.

Machinery and equipment takes third place with a share of 10.3%, despite a drop in exports of 4.6%.

Transport equipment takes fourth place with a share of 9.9% (+2.7%) of total Belgian exports.

Plas"cs completed the top five of the most important export products. Thanks to an increase in sales of

0.9%, this group of products represented a share of 8.2%.

2. Imports

2.1. Geographical developments

Belgian imports from the European Union countries fell by 2.6% in 2013, compared with a rise of 1.4% in

2012. Belgium’s purchases within the euro area declined by 3.0%. Imports from other EU countries out-

side the euro area fell by 0.3%, following a drop of 3.9% in 2012.

In the euro area, Belgium saw a decrease in imports par�cularly from Portugal (-11.3%), Greece (-13.2%),

Ireland (-20.2%) and Malta (-46.3%). Imports from Estonia (+21.1%), Cyprus (+17.5%), Finland (+10.0%),

Italy (+3.1%), Austria (+1.8%), Spain (+1.7%), Slovakia (+0.8%) and France (+0.2%) were up in 2013. Never-

theless, the posi�ve figures were unable to compensate for the negative results. The reason why imports from the other EU countries outside the euro area fell by 0.3% in 2013 is primari-

ly a reduc�on in imports from Hungary (-1.0%), the United Kingdom (-3.7%), Croa�a (-20.2%) and Bulgaria

(-21.5%).

14

Imports from other European countries outside the EU increased by 10.9% in 2013 due to an increase in

imports from Norway (+19.9%), Russia (+16.9%) and Turkey (+3.1%). A decrease in imports from Switzer-

land (-1.7%), Ukraine (-6.0%) and Iceland (-17.4%) had no effect. Imports from the rest of the world evolved differently from one con�nent to another. Imports from

America rose in 2013, while those from Asia, Africa and Oceania fell.

• Africa: -6.9% in 2013 compared to +11.5% in 2012;

• America: +6.5% in 2013 compared to +5.0% in 2012;

• Asia: -0.7% in 2013 compared to –3.1% in 2012 and

• Oceania: -16.4% in 2013 compared to +12.2% in 2012.

2.2. Sectoral developments

As in the case for exports, the largest share of imports belongs to chemical products, which account for a

fiJh of our total imports (20.0%). The share of this group of products fell slightly in 2013, due to a de-

crease in imports of this type of product amoun�ng to 2.0%.

Mineral products occupied second place with a share of 19.7%, an increase of 5.1%.

The top five major import sec�ons was completed by machinery and equipment, transport equipment

and base metals, with a share of total Belgian imports of 11.6%, 10.5% and 6.6% respec�vely.

3. Geographical trade balances

Belgium announced a trade surplus with the European Union. It even increased significantly from

EUR 12.1 billion in 2012 to EUR 22.6 billion in 2013.

Euro area countries

In 2013, the posi�ve trade balance with France grew to EUR 19.4 billion. Significant, but lower surpluses

were also recorded with Germany (EUR 14.0 billion), Italy (EUR 5.0 billion), the Grand Duchy of Luxem-

bourg (EUR 3.7 billion), Spain (EUR 2.0 billion) and Austria (EUR 1.4 billion).

The trade deficit with the Netherlands fell from EUR 27.0 billion in 2012 to EUR 26.1 billion in 2013. The

trade balance with Ireland also remained nega�ve (EUR -10.2 billion).

Other EU member countries

With regard to the EU countries outside the euro area, the overall trade balance remains posi�ve. It in-

creased from EUR 8.7 billion in 2012 to EUR 11.6 billion in 2013.

Belgium’s trade balance with the other European countries outside the EU remained nega�ve. The defi-

cit even increased significantly, from EUR -2.1 billion to EUR -3.7 billion. Belgium’s nega�ve balance with

Russia and Norway increased to EUR -4.8 billion and EUR -4.4 billion respec�vely. Conversely, the deficit

with Iceland changed to a slight surplus.

With regard to the other con�nents, it should be noted that Belgium’s trade balance with America de-

clined considerably. The deficit of EUR -2.8 billion recorded in 2012 more than doubled in 2013 to EUR -

5.8 billion.

The deficit with Asia dropped slightly in 2013, from EUR -8.9 billion to EUR -8.6 billion.

Belgium’s trade balance with Africa showed a surplus of EUR 4.8 billion in 2013, which is a vast improve-

ment over 2012, when the surplus amounted to just EUR 2.6 billion. The trade balance with Oceania ended 2013 with a surplus of EUR 403.9 million, compared with a surplus

a year earlier of just EUR 75.5 million.

15

Belgium, the heart of Europe

Belgium is a federal Kingdom comprised of three Regions (the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brus-

sels-Capital Region) and three Communi�es (the Flemish, the French and the German Communi�es).

Belgium has a popula�on of 11.1 million inhabitants (2013 est.) and is one of the most densely populated

countries in Europe. Brussels is the ‘Capital of Europe’: it hosts the headquarters of the European Commission, the

Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. Other major interna�onal organiza�ons, such as NATO, are

also located in Brussels. That is how Brussels ranks as the world’s number two city (aJer Washington, D.C.) in

terms of the number of accredited journalists, and fourth in terms of the number of interna�onal mee�ngs and

seminars held.

With a surface of 30,500 km2, Belgium is one of the smallest member states of the European Union. Nevertheless,

it is a significant player in the world economy. Belgium scores par�cularly well for its export-driven economy and

investment aMrac�veness. Its small size and limited internal market are the main factors behind the strong export

culture in Belgium. Moreover, due to its welldeveloped infrastructure, good living standards, central loca�on and

highly-skilled workforce, Belgium is also praised by foreign investors.

GDP (Gross Domes�c Product) reached €375.9 billion in 2012 and €381.3 billion in 2013. Due to the con�nuing

financial and economic crisis GDP growth was slightly nega�ve in 2012 (-0.1%), but it became posi�ve again in

2013 as Belgian GDP grew by 0.2%. Belgium is a high income country, with a GDP per capita of US$ 47,519 in 2013

(Economist Intelligence Unit).

In 2013, according to the World Trade Organiza�on (WTO), Belgium was the 12th exporter and 13

th importer of

goods worldwide with a share of 2.5% and 2.4% respec�vely. That same year it was also the 15th exporter and 15

th

importer of services worldwide with a share of 2.2% in both cases.

Since 2007, Belgium has been holding the top posi�on of the annual KOF Index of Globaliza�on, which measures

the economic, social and poli�cal dimensions of globaliza�on.

Belgium also boasts an excep�onal higher educa�on and training system (number 4 in the world in 2012), with

excellent math and science educa�on, top-notch management schools and a strong propensity for on-the-job

training. These elements contribute to an overall high capacity to innovate (11th in the world). Belgium’s goods

market is characterized by high levels of compe��on and an environment that facilitates new business crea�on.

Business opera�ons are also dis�nguished by high levels of sophis�ca�on and professional management.

Belgium’s economic & trade performance

16

Main economic indicators

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

GDP (€ bn) 340.7 355.7 369.3 375.9 375.6

Private consump"on (€ bn) 179.8 188.5 194.7 198.9 201.4

Gross fixed investment (€ bn) 70.9 71.5 76.5 76.5 75.7

Inward Direct Investment (USD bn) 65.8 86.9 102.0 -1.9 36.6

Current-account balance (USD bn) -6.6 8.4 -5.7 -6.6 -6.6

Growth of real GDP (%) -2.8 2.3 1.8 -0.1 0.2

Labor produc"vity growth (%) -2.6 1.6 0.4 -0.4 1.0

Consumer price infla"on (av; %) 0.0 2.3 3.4 2.6 1.1

Popula"on (m) 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.7

Exchange rate (av. : USD-€) 1.39 1.33 1.39 1.29 1.32

17