Brussels foreign trade: highlights for first half 2023

Brussels’ exports of goods soared in the first half of 2023, with 6 billion euros of goods sold abroad, an impressive 37% increase on the same period in 2022. Exports of services, this time at the Belgian level, posted a more modest 6% growth.

The positive surprise in terms of trade with the world lay mainly in trade in Brussels goods, which rose from EUR 4.4 billion to EUR 6.0 billion compared to the first half of 2022. Brussels imports followed the same trend, rising by 22% to a total of EUR 9.9 billion.

These figures contrast with the evolution of trade at the Belgian level: the country exported 188 billion EUR of goods abroad (down 12% on 2022) and imported 202 billion EUR (down 5%).

Why such contrasting trends? This was due, among other things, to fluctuating energy commodity prices and lower sales of the coronavirus vaccine, which had a major impact on Belgian goods exports in early 2023.

Key products for Brussels exports: motor vehicles and pharmaceuticals

On the Brussels side, export growth was largely attributable to increases in the Brussels-Capital Region’s two biggest export categories, “Motor vehicles for passenger transport” and “Products of the chemical or allied industries”, each accounting for 2 billion EUR, or 70% of Brussels exports. 2023 was a very good year, with growth of 17% in the first category and 116% in the second.

Mineral products (+463%) and wood pulp or other fibrous cellulose material (paper or paperboard for recycling, etc.) (+177%) were also among the exported products with a significant increase.

Refocusing of goods trade towards Europe; Germany strengthens its leading position

In contrast to 2022, the first half of 2023 saw a refocusing of Brussels’ exports and imports of goods to and from continental Europe (83% and 94% respectively), and a fortiori to and from the European Union (74% of exports, 91% of imports). This trend is to the detriment of other continents.

With exports up 114%, mainly as a result of higher sales of “Products of the chemical or allied industries”, Germany strengthened its position as our Region’s largest customer (27% overall share), ahead of the Netherlands (13%), France (10%), and the United States (10%), whose exports grew by 28%, 58% and 13% respectively.

Some notable observations

• Exports of goods from Brussels to Europe rose by 47% compared to the same period in 2022, while those to Asia fell by 13%;
• Exports from Brussels were particularly strong to:
  • Turkey (+229%), Finland (+145%) and Canada (+47%), following growth in car sales;
  • Hungary (+160%), following an increase in exports of medicines;
  • the Czech Republic (+93%), thanks to rubber sales;
  • Italy (+57%), due to growth in sales of chemicals and cars.
• However, exports declined to:
  • Russia (-41%), due to the global embargo as well as to lower sales of pharmaceutical products and cars);
  • Switzerland (-21%), due to lower gold exports, which had nevertheless exploded the previous year;
  • Norway (-12%) and Brazil (-8%) following a drop in car exports.

Belgian services exports declined

On a national scale, Belgium exported EUR 65 billion worth of services in the first half of 2023: up 6% on the previous year, but not exceeding the Belgian inflation rate in the first half of this year. Please note that the value of service exports is not yet available at a regional level.

This moderate growth follows the resumption of trade in early 2022, which saw an exceptional 15% increase in service exports and a 19% rise in imports after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, Belgium’s balance of trade in services showed a deficit of EUR 1.1 billion in the first half of 2023, while this balance was positive in the first half of recent years.

This trade deficit can be explained by the poor performance of “Travel” and “Other business services”. Spending by Belgians travelling abroad largely exceeded spending by foreigners in Belgium (EUR -4.6 billion), while other business services fell from a surplus of several billion euros in the first half of 2022 to several million euros in 2023.

Belgium’s main trading partners (accounting for half of Belgian service exports) were, in order of importance, the Netherlands, France, the USA, Germany and the UK.