Brussels foreign trade: trends 2022-2023

The years 2022 and 2023 were very positive in terms of exports for the Brussels Region, which recorded a 9% increase in service exports in 2022 (i.e. 32.3 billion euros) and a 24% increase in goods exports in 2023 alone (i.e. 11.8 billion euros). For which products and to which countries? Find out in our annual foreign trade balance sheet! 

Brussels services in demand 

In 2022, over half (55%) of Brussels’ service exports were generated by:

1. Professional, scientific and technical activities (29.2%)
2. Financial and insurance activities (25.7%)
3. Information and communication technologies (11.2%)

Over three years (2019 to 2022), the Electricity, gas, steam and refrigerated air production and distribution, Water distribution, and Waste and waste water management and sanitation, and Transportation and storage sectors have both seen strong growth (93% and 67% respectively), with the growth between 2021 and 2022 of particular note (141% and 67% respectively).  

Further down the ranking, the following service sectors performed well:

• Human health and social work (+122% in 2022 – a level of growth not seen in 10 years, +61% over three years)
• Education (+119% in 2022 after three years of relatively sharp decline, +13% over three years)
• Accommodation and catering (+31% in 2022)
• Construction (+30% in 2022)

These last two sectors seem to be picking up again, after a palpable slowdown in 2020 (around -40%) and a fairly strong recovery in 2021 (-4% for the former and +24% for the latter).  

Not forgetting the goods 

With a 37% share in 2023, versus 40% in 2022, and an export volume of over 4.4 billion euros, the transport equipment category retains its number-one position. Exports of this type of goods rose by 15% from 2022 to 2023. These are primarily passenger cars and other motor vehicles mainly intended for passenger transport (4.2 billion euros, up 16%).    

Pharmaceuticals come in second with a significant share of 18%, and an increase of no less than 48% compared to 2022.  

Food products are slightly less well placed, but they are now the fourth most exported goods from Brussels (+25.2%), after machinery and equipment. 

A few other key milestones  

• Exports of Brussels products to Germany have recently shown a very positive trend (a share of 26.1%, compared to 21.5% in 2022). Exports rose by 50%, mainly due to a significant increase in “Products of the chemical or allied industries” (+215%, 1.8 billion euros vs. 564 million euros in 2022), particularly pharmaceuticals (+702%).
• A significant increase was observed for exports of Brussels products from the chemical and allied industries (+57%). This is particularly true for the Brussels Region’s biggest customers, such as Germany, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Spain, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Canada.  
• Among the Brussels Region’s main trading partners (Top 25), the sharpest increases in goods exports between 2022 and 2023 were recorded in the Czech Republic (+174%), Hungary (+153%), Turkey (+123%), Finland (+98%), Canada (+91%), Israel (+85%) and Sweden (+83%).
• Growth in Belgium’s services exports saw a sharp slowdown in 2023 (+2% vs. +14% in 2022). Among Belgium’s main export countries, i.e. neighbouring countries or those are geographically close-by, growth is either moderate or declining: the Netherlands (+0.3% in 2023), France (-4.8%), Germany (-1.1%) and the UK (+2.4%). The United States, the only non-EU country in the top 5, saw an even sharper drop of 14%. By contrast, Ireland stands out in third place, with 52% growth in exports.