External Trade - May 2005
Year-on-year decrease of exports and imports
Publication Date: 07. 07. 2005
Product Code: r-6001-05
Year-on-year decrease of exports and imports
External trade – May 2005
According to preliminary data, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 1.3% and imports increased by 0.2% month-on-month. The trend component rose very moderately in exports and by 0.2% in imports (Table 6, Graphs 1 and 2). The growth rate of trend of exports started to go up after a previous three-month decrease, the growth rate of trend of imports has been rising since March 2005, after a six-month decrease.
In terms of year-on-year comparison, current price exports and imports were down by 1.1% and 4.3%, respectively (Graphs 3 and 4). These results were affected by the high comparative base of May 2004, which was the first month of the Czech Republic’s membership of the EU. Due to the development of exchange rate, exports and imports in terms of euros increased by 4.6% and 1.3%, respectively, exports and imports in terms of US dollars rose by 10.6% and 7.1% respectively.
The trade balance ended in a surplus of CZK 6.0 billion, which was by CZK 4.9 billion more than in May 2004. This is the highest surplus recorded in May in the history of the Czech Republic. Trade balance with the EU member states reached a surplus of CZK 24.5 billion, trade balance with non-EU states ended in a deficit of CZK 18.5 billion. Balance improved especially in trade in ’machinery and transport equipment’ (surplus rose by CZK 4.6 billion), ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (CZK 0.1 billion deficit turned into a CZK 3.1 billion surplus), ’chemicals and related products’ (deficit decreased by CZK 1.1 billion) and ’miscellaneous manufactured articles’ (surplus increased by CZK 1.1 billion). On the other hand, deficit worsened in trade in ’mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ (by CZK 2.4 billion) and ’food and live animals’ (by CZK 1.4 billion).
Total exports of ’machinery and transport equipment’ were at the same level as in May 2004. On the increase were particularly exports of computers (+25.6%) and road vehicles (+12.7%), while exports dropped of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances (-23.3%) and of power-generating machinery and equipment (-17.4%). Imports of ’machinery and transport equipment’ were down by 7.2% in total, of which most fell imports of general industrial machinery and equipment (-18.2%) and road vehicles (-11.5%). Only imports of computers (+9.2%) and imports of power-generating machinery and equipment (+8.2%) grew.
The growth of imports of ’mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ by 25.4% was caused mainly by higher imports of petroleum (by 75.1% in terms of value, by 28.6% in terms of volume) and natural gas (by 46.2% in terms of value, by 15.7% in terms of volume).
By group of countries, improvement was recorded in trade with the EU member states (surplus grew by CZK 7.2 billion), particularly in trade with France (by CZK 2.6 billion), Italy (by CZK 1.7 billion) and the United Kingdom (by CZK by 1.6 billion). Balance deteriorated in trade with the Netherlands (CZK 2.4 billion surplus turned into a CZK 0.2 billion deficit), Poland (surplus fell by CZK 0.7 billion), Austria (surplus decreased by CZK 0.6 billion) and Germany (surplus fell by CZK 0.1 billion). Deficit of trade with non-EU states grew by CZK 2.7 billion y-o-y, most in trade with Russia (by CZK 1.9 billion) and China (by CZK 0.2 billion). CZK 0.4 billion deficit in trade with the United States turned into a CZK 0.2 billion surplus.
Over last twelve months , compared to preceding twelve months, exports and imports were up by 20.1% and 14.1%, respectively. The total balance reached a surplus of CZK 16.1 billion, which was an improvement of CZK 80.0 billion.
Favourable effects on the development of the balance had trade in ‘machinery and transport equipment’ (a CZK 90.6 billion increase in surplus), ‘chemicals and related products’ (a CZK 11.9 billion fall in deficit) and ‘manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’ (a CZK 11.6 billion growth of surplus). Deficit rose in trade in ’mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ by CZK 23.5 billion, ’crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ by CZK 5.5 billion, and ’beverages and tobacco’ by CZK 2.0 billion. Surplus fell in trade in ’miscellaneous manufactured articles’ by CZK 1.2 billion.
By group of countries, surplus of trade with the EU member states grew by CZK 89.6 billion, of which by CZK 34.7 billion in trade with Germany, by CZK 17.7 billion in trade with Slovakia and by CZK 10.0 billion in trade with Hungary. CZK 8.0 billion deficit in trade with France turned into a CZK 6.8 surplus. Conversely, surplus dropped in trade with the Netherlands by CZK 12.4 billion and with the United Kingdom by CZK 3.7 billion. Deficit of trade with non-EU states rose by CZK 9.6 billion, particularly with Japan (by CZK 18.0 billion), the United States (by CZK 8.8 billion) and China (by CZK 1.3 billion). On the other hand, deficit decreased in trade with Malaysia (by CZK 6.4 billion).
January-May 2005 , exports and imports grew by 9.5% and 3.7%, respectively. Trade balance ended in a surplus of CZK 30.5 billion, compared to the trade gap of CZK 8.5 billion in the same period of 2004.
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According to the communication from the Directorate General of Customs, data were received from 96,1% of companies obliged to report to the Intrastat system. As far as large companies are concerned (those whose annual value of exports to or imports from the EU member states exceeded CZK 100 million), the response rate was 98,5%.
Data for companies exempted from reporting duty (whose annual value of trade with the EU member states was below CZK 4 million for goods dispatched and below CZK 2 million for goods received) and data for companies that failed to report were imputed. The imputation methods are based on data that companies supplied in the previous period. As to the May data, the share of imputed value in total exports was 1.9% and in total imports 2.7%.
Note
Contact: Kamil Kudlák, phone (+420) 274 05 2520, e-mail: kamil.kudlak@csu.gov.cz
Data source: Intrastat reports and Single Administrative Documents (SAD) collected by the Directorate General of Customs (DGC)
Related publication: 6001-05 External Trade of the Czech Republic in January-May2005
The data for individual months of 2004 and data for individual months of the 1st quarter of 2005 are updated referring to 27 May 2005 closing date. The final 2004 data will be released in September 2005.
The May 2005 data are preliminary referring to 28 June 2005 closing date and will be updated together with data for individual months of the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2005 in September 2005.