Difficult July for UK goods exports

11th September 2024

William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, responds to the latest trade figures published by the ONS

Responding to the latest trade figures published by the ONS, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 

“We know trade data is subject to monthly fluctuations, but it was still disappointing to see that June’s particularly strong gains were reversed in July. 

“Taking the past three months overall, goods exports have been flat, but services exports growth has been solid at 2.5% 

“In the week that the World Trade Organisation published its latest World Trade Report, showing there are positive signs for global trade, we need practical support for UK exporters. 

“If we want to maximise our growth potential, then this must be a focus for the Government’s new Trade Strategy, particularly for goods.” 

The Picture In Detail 

Exports 

Export volumes saw a double-digit drop in July. This was driven by lower sales of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and transport equipment to customers in the EU, including lower aircraft sales to Germany. These were all sectors that performed strongly in June. 

Non-EU goods exports also fell back in July, with lower sales of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medicines to the US, alongside reduced demand for other manufactured goods in Switzerland and South Korea.  

Looking at chained volumes, excluding inflation, July’s goods exports were down 11.5% on trade in June, with a 10.9% fall to the EU and a 12.1% drop with the rest of the world.  

The picture on services for July was a month of steady trade but there was no rise in export volumes.  

Imports 

Goods imports fared better than exports in July but still saw a drop. Overall, chained volumes declined by 3%, with imports from the EU down by 2.9% and the rest of the world by 3.1%. Services import volumes into the UK rose by 4.9%.

More detail on the ONS data can be found here.