UK overseas trade in goods statistics January 2024: commentary
Published 13 March 2024
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Trade in goods summary
Data behind this bulletin is available through the UK Trade Info web site, where users can build their own tables according to the countries, commodities, and ports selected.
Users must refer to the accompanying methodology notes.
Total exports of goods for January 2024
£34.8 billion up £5.6 billion (19%) on December 2023, and up £3.9 billion (13%) on January 2023
Total imports of goods for January 2024
£50.1 billion down £0.3 billion (1%) on December 2023, and down £4.5 billion (8%) on January 2023
The UK was a net importer in January 2024, with imports exceeding exports by £15.3 billion, narrowing the trade gap (exports minus imports) by £5.9 billion on December 2023.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Figure 1: Total UK monthly trade in goods, August 2022 to January 2024
Figure 1 shows that imports remained fairly steady in January 2024. Exports increased, after falling since October 2023, causing the trade gap to narrow this month.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 trade gap data (ODS 12KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
EU and non-EU trade in goods
- Exports to the EU accounted for 42% of the total value of exports
- Imports from the EU accounted for 51% of the total value of imports
Table 1: Total UK trade in goods with EU and non-EU, January 2024 (£ billion)
| Flow | EU | Non-EU | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 14.5 | 20.3 | 34.8 |
| Imports | 25.6 | 24.5 | 50.1 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download Total UK trade in goods with EU and non-EU (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Table 1 shows the share of EU and non-EU exports and imports.
EU exports for January 2024 were £14.5 billion. This was an increase of £0.4 billion (3%) on December 2023, but a decrease of £1.0 billion (7%) compared with January 2023.
Non-EU exports for January 2024 were £20.3 billion. This was an increase of £5.2 billion (35%) on December 2023, and an increase of £5.0 billion (33%) compared with January 2023.
EU imports for January 2024 were £25.6 billion. This was an increase of less than £0.1 billion (less than 1%) on December 2023, and an increase of £1.0 billion (4%) compared with January 2023.
Non-EU imports for January 2024 were £24.5 billion. This was a decrease of £0.3 billion (1%) on December 2023, and a decrease of £5.5 billion (18%) compared with January 2023.
Figure 2: Total UK monthly trade in goods with EU and non-EU, August 2022 to January 2024
Figure 2 shows that EU exports remained relatively steady over the period from August 2022 to January 2024. Non-EU exports increased in January 2024, after 2 months of decline. In March 2023, EU imports peaked, and have remained above non-EU imports since June 2023.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 EU and Non-EU trade (ODS 12KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Exports: Country Analysis
You can create and explore more UK export country data in the interactive data tables.
- Switzerland replaced USA as the UK’s top export partner in January 2024
- USA experienced the largest value decrease in exports on December 2023
Table 2: UK exports of goods to the top 5 countries, change on December 2023 and January 2023 (£ million)
| Main partner country | January 2024 | December 2023 | January 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 5,096 | 386 | 1,044 |
| USA | 4,057 | 4,954 | 4,087 |
| Germany | 2,554 | 2,550 | 2,609 |
| China | 2,358 | 926 | 1,335 |
| Netherlands | 2,169 | 2,041 | 2,793 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download UK exports of goods to the top 5 countries, total value January 2024 data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Switzerland was the largest export partner country by value, up from 20th place in December 2023. China was the fourth largest export partner, up from 7th place in December 2023. The increases for both Switzerland and China were driven by Precious metals. The decrease in exports to the USA was led by Pharmaceutical products (see Focus).
Figure 3: Historical export values for the top 3 export partner countries in January 2024
Figure 3 shows that USA was the top export partner for most of the period. The peaks for Switzerland in May 2023 and January 2024 were linked to fluctuations in exports of Precious metals. Exports to Germany remained relatively stable over this period.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 export partner country data (ODS 11KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Exports: Commodity Analysis
You can create and explore more UK export commodity data in the interactive data tables.
- Precious metals up to more than 10 times the value on December 2023
- Mineral fuels down 34% in value on January 2023
Table 3: UK exports of goods of the top 5 commodities, change on December 2023 and January 2023 (£ million)
| Commodity | January 2024 | December 2023 | January 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precious metals | 8,219 | 788 | 2,765 |
| Mechanical appliances | 5,392 | 5,820 | 5,097 |
| Motor vehicles | 3,077 | 3,528 | 2,834 |
| Mineral fuels | 2,399 | 2,768 | 3,613 |
| Pharmaceutical products | 1,887 | 1,808 | 1,844 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download UK exports of goods of the top 5 commodities, total value January 2024 data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Exports of Precious metals rose to 1st place from 9th in December 2023. Electronic equipment dropped to 6th from being the 4th largest export commodity in December 2023.
Figure 4: Historical export values for the top 3 export chapters in January 2024
Figure 4 shows that exports of Mechanical appliances and Motor vehicles remained relatively stable, while exports of Precious metals fluctuated month on month.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 export chapter data (ODS 12KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Imports: Country Analysis
You can create and explore more UK import country data in the interactive data tables.
- The value of imports from France down 14% on December 2023
- The value of imports from the USA down 29% on January 2023
Table 4: UK imports of goods from the top 5 countries, change on December 2023 and January 2023 (£ million)
| Main partner country | January 2024 | December 2023 | January 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 6,253 | 6,807 | 5,381 |
| USA | 5,789 | 5,537 | 8,150 |
| China | 4,698 | 4,614 | 5,639 |
| Netherlands | 3,874 | 3,679 | 4,028 |
| France | 2,852 | 3,319 | 3,136 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download UK imports of goods to the top 5 countries, total value January 2024 data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Germany remained the UK’s largest import partner in January 2024, accounting for 12% of total UK imports in January 2024. This was up from 10% in January 2023 when Germany was the UK’s 3rd largest import partner by value. The increase in imports from Germany on January 2023 was driven by Precious metals and Motor vehicles.
Figure 5: Historical import values for the top 3 import partner countries in January 2024
Figure 5 shows that imports from Germany fell in January 2024 for the second month in a row. Imports from the USA increased in January 2024 for the second month in a row, to remain in second place. Imports from China increased marginally on December 2023 after two consecutive monthly decreases.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 import partner country data (ODS 12KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Imports: Commodity Analysis
You can create and explore more UK import commodity data in the interactive data tables.
- Precious metals down 37% in value on December 2023
- Mineral fuels down by 40% in value on January 2023
Table 5: UK imports of goods of the top 5 commodities, change on December 2023 and January 2023 (£ million)
| Commodity | January 2024 | December 2023 | January 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral fuels | 6,118 | 5,568 | 10,114 |
| Mechanical appliances | 5,944 | 6,095 | 6,191 |
| Motor vehicles | 5,547 | 5,852 | 4,846 |
| Electronic equipment | 4,703 | 4,349 | 5,216 |
| Precious metals | 4,220 | 6,729 | 2,788 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download UK imports of goods of the top 5 commodities, total value January 2024 data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Imports of Mineral fuels rose to 1st place from 4th in December 2023, while Precious metals dropped from 1st place to 5th.
Figure 6: Historical import values for the top 3 import chapters in January 2024
Figure 6 shows that imports of Mineral fuels increased in January 2024, to retake the top position. Imports of Mineral fuels peaked in December 2022, declining to a third of this value in June 2023. Import values of Mechanical appliances and Motor vehicles remained relatively steady over this period.
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 import chapter data (ODS 12KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Focus
Table 6: Exports to USA, largest monthly decrease
| Commodity | Export value January 2024 (£m) | Export value December 2023 (£m) | Change in value (£m) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical products | 474 | 668 | -194 | -29 |
| Mechanical appliances | 975 | 1,147 | -171 | -15 |
| Inorganic chemicals | 9 | 168 | -160 | -95 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 USA export data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Exports to the USA showed the largest value decrease of all partner countries on December 2023, a £0.9 billion (18%) decrease. Exports of Pharmaceutical products to the USA decreased by £194 million (29%) between December 2023 and January 2024.
Table 7: Imports from the USA, largest decrease on January 2023
| Commodity | Import value January 2024 (£m) | Import value January 2023 (£m) | Change in value (£m) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral fuels | 1,891 | 3,339 | -1,448 | -43 |
| Organic chemicals | 60 | 689 | -629 | -91 |
| Aircraft | 114 | 417 | -303 | -73 |
Source: UK overseas trade in goods statistics from HM Revenue & Customs
Download detailed January 2024 USA import data (ODS 10KB)
Note: 2023 and 2024 data is provisional
Imports from the USA showed the largest value decrease of all partner countries on January 2023, a £2.4 billion (29%) decrease. This was driven by a £1.4 billion (43%) decrease in Mineral fuels.