Archive:ASEAN-EU - international trade in goods statistics

This Statistics Explained article has been archived - for recent articles on International trade in goods see here.

Data extracted in March 2022

Planned article update: March 2023

Highlights

Manufactured goods dominated EU trade with ASEAN partners in 2021, with 82 % of total exports and 86 % of total imports.

Singapore was the largest ASEAN destination for EU exports of goods in 2021, while Vietnam was the largest ASEAN origin for EU imports of goods.

Germany was the largest EU exporter of goods to ASEAN countries in 2021, with €26 billion while the Netherlands was the largest importer of goods from ASEAN countries with a value of €33 billion.

EU trade in goods with ASEAN countries, 2011-2021

This article provides a picture of the international trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and ASEAN. It analyses the type of goods exchanged between them and the shares of each EU Member State in those exchanges. The countries belonging to ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

This article is part of an online publication providing recent statistics on international trade in goods, covering information on the EU's main partners, main products traded, specific characteristics of trade as well as background information.

Full article

ASEAN countries trade in goods with main partners

The largest trade in goods partners of ASEAN countries in 2020 are shown in Figure 1. Among non-ASEAN countries, China (20 %) is the largest export destination, followed by the United States (19 %) and the EU (12 %). The EU accounted for 9 % of ASEAN imports from non-ASEAN countries, placing it fifth behind China (31 %), Japan (10 %), the United States and South Korea (both also 9 %). Trade among ASEAN countries accounted for around a fifth of total (intra + extra) ASEAN trade both for imports and exports.

Figure 1: ASEAN trade in goods with main partners, 2020
(%)
Source: UN ComtradeCTAD

EU trade in goods with ASEAN countries continues to be in deficit

Between 2011 and 2019, EU imports from and EU exports to ASEAN countries grew considerably (see Figure 2). Both fell in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but recovered in 2021. Exports to ASEAN countries grew from €60 billion in 2011 to €80 billion in 2021 which was still below pre-pandemic levels. Imports from ASEAN countries grew even more, from €79 billion in 2011 to an all time high of €136 billion in 2021. Consequently, the trade deficit grew from €19 billion in 2011 to €56 billion in 2021.

Figure 2: EU trade in goods with ASEAN countries, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Manufactured goods dominate trade with ASEAN partners

In 2011, 85 % of goods exported to ASEAN countries were manufactured goods (see Figure 3). This share fell to 82 % in 2021, while the share of primary goods rose from 12 % in 2011 to 17 % in 2021. Within manufactured goods there was a decline in the share of machinery and vehicles from 51 % in 2011 to 41 % in 2021 while chemicals rose from 15 % to 22 %.

Figure 3: EU exports to ASEAN countries by product group, 2021
(shares of total exports in value)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Manufactured goods also dominate imports of goods from ASEAN countries (see Figure 4). Between 2011 and 2021 their share increased from 77 % to 86 % due to the increasing share of machinery and vehicles and of other manufactured goods. The nine percentage points (pp) drop in the share of primary goods from 22 % in 2011 to 13 % in 2021 was caused mainly by the falling share of raw materials, although the shares of both other categories of primary goods also fell.

Figure 4: EU imports from ASEAN countries by product group, 2021
(shares of total imports in value)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Singapore largest ASEAN destination for EU exports of goods

Table 1 shows the exports, imports and trade balance for trade in goods between the EU and ASEAN countries. In 2021, measured in total EU trade (exports + imports) Vietnam (€49 billion) was the largest partner, ahead of Singapore (43 billion) and Malaysia (€41 billion). Myanmar (25 %) recorded the largest growth rate between 2011 and 2021 ahead of Cambodia (13 %) and Vietnam (12 %).

Table 1: EU trade in goods with ASEAN countries, 2011 and 2021
(€ million and %)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Figure 5 shows the EU exports of goods to the six largest ASEAN trading partners (Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines). Among these six, Singapore was the largest destination for EU exports of goods in 2021 with €27.3 billion, followed by Thailand (€13.3 billion) and Malaysia (€ 11.8 billion). Vietnam had the largest increase for EU exports, more than doubling from €4.8 billion in 2011 to €10.6 billion in 2021; equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 8.2 %. Among the smaller ASEAN partners, Brunei (18.8 %) and Cambodia (8.3 %) had even higher growth rates (Figure 5b).

Figure 5a: EU exports of goods to ASEAN countries, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995
Figure 5b: EU exports of goods to ASEAN countries - details, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Vietnam largest ASEAN partner for EU imports of goods

The EU's largest partner for imports of goods among ASEAN countries in 2021 was Vietnam. The growth from €11.3 billion in 2011 to € 38.5 billion in 2021 was equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 13.1 % (Figure 6). It thereby surpassed the imports from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore whose average annual growth rates were all below 7 %. Among the smaller ASEAN countries, Myanmar (33.6 %) and Cambodia (12.1 %) had double digit growth rates, but coming from absolute values that were much smaller (Figure 6b).

Figure 6a: EU imports of goods from ASEAN countries, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995
Figure 6b: EU imports of goods from ASEAN countries - details, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Vietnam's high growth in imports meant that the EU saw its trade in goods deficit with Vietnam increase from €6.4 billion in 2011 to €27.8 billion in 2021 (see Figure 7). The trade deficit with Malaysia also increased significantly from €5.7 billion in 2011 to €17.4 billion in 2021. With the exception of Brunei (+0.1 billion) and Singapore (+11.7 billion), the EU had trade deficits with all ASEAN countries.

Figure 7a: EU trade in goods balance with ASEAN countries, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995
Figure 7b: EU trade in goods balance with ASEAN countries - details, 2011-2021
(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Germany largest trade in goods partner for ASEAN countries

The largest EU exporter of goods to ASEAN countries in 2021 was Germany. German exports of goods to ASEAN countries had a value of €26 billion, making up 4.5 % of all their extra-EU exports. This share was highest in Malta where 14.2 % of extra-EU exports was destined for ASEAN countries (Table 2).

Table 2: Exports of goods to ASEAN countries, 2021
(€ million and %)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Among the EU Member States, the Netherlands with €33 billion was the largest importer of goods from ASEAN countries followed by Germany with €31 billion. Slovakia (13.3 %), Austria (9.9 %) and the Netherlands (9.5 %) had more than 9 % of imports originating from ASEAN countries (Table 3).

Table 3: Imports of goods from ASEAN countries, 2021
(€ million and %)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

There were seven Member States that had a modest trade in goods surplus with ASEAN countries in 2021. These were France (€986 million), Denmark (€606 million), Finland (€388 million), Lithuania (€209 million), Estonia (€79 million), Malta (€41 million) and Luxembourg (€19 million). The other 20 Member States all had trade deficits with ASEAN countries, ranging from €28 million for Cyprus to €25 billion for the Netherlands.Other large deficits were seen in Belgium, Germany and Spain (all €5 billion)(Figure 8).

Figure 8a: Trade in goods balance with ASEAN countries, 2021
(€ million)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995
Figure 8b: Trade in goods balance with ASEAN countries - details, 2021
(€ million)
Source: Eurostat - Comext DS-018995

Source data for tables and graphs

EU trade in goods with ASEAN countries

Data sources

EU data is taken from Eurostat's COMEXT database. COMEXT is the reference database for international trade in goods. It provides access not only to both recent and historical data from the EU Member States but also to statistics of a significant number of third countries. International trade aggregated and detailed statistics disseminated via the Eurostat website are compiled from COMEXT data according to a monthly process.

Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States and compiled according to a harmonised methodology established by EU regulations before transmission to Eurostat. For extra-EU trade, the statistical information is mainly provided by the traders on the basis of customs declarations.

EU data are compiled according to Community guidelines and may, therefore, differ from national data published by the Member States. Statistics on extra-EU trade are calculated as the sum of trade of each of the 27 EU Member States with countries outside the EU. In other words, the EU is considered as a single trading entity and trade flows are measured into and out of the area, but not within it.

The United Kingdom is considered as an extra-EU partner country for the EU for the whole period covered by this article. However, the United Kingdom was still part of the internal market until the end of the transitory period (31 December 2020), meaning that data on trade with the United Kingdom were still based on statistical concepts applicable to trade between the EU Member States. Consequently, while imports from any other extra-EU trade partner are grouped by country of origin, the United Kingdom data reflect the country of consignment. In practice this means that the goods imported by the EU from the United Kingdom were physically transported from the United Kingdom but part of these goods could have been of other origin than the United Kingdom. For this reason, data on trade with the United Kingdom are not fully comparable with data on trade with other extra-EU trade partners.

Methodology According to the EU concepts and definitions, extra-EU trade statistics (trade between EU Member States and non-EU countries) do not record exchanges involving goods in transit, placed in a customs warehouse or given temporary admission (for trade fairs, temporary exhibitions, tests, etc.). This is known as ‘special trade’. The partner is the country of final destination of the goods for exports and the country of origin for imports.

Product classification Information on commodities exported and imported is presented according to the Standard international trade classification (SITC). A full description is available from Eurostat’s classification server RAMON.

Unit of measure Trade values are expressed in millions or billions (1 000 millions) of euros. They correspond to the statistical value, i.e. to the amount which would be invoiced in case of sale or purchase at the national border of the reporting country. It is called a FOB value (free on board) for exports and a CIF value (cost, insurance, freight) for imports.

Context

Trade is an important indicator of Europe’s prosperity and place in the world. The block is deeply integrated into global markets both for the products it sources and the exports it sells. The EU trade policy is one of the main pillars of the EU’s relations with the rest of the world.

Because the 27 EU Member States share a single market and a single external border, they also have a single trade policy. EU Member States speak and negotiate collectively, both in the World Trade Organization, where the rules of international trade are agreed and enforced, and with individual trading partners. This common policy enables them to speak with one voice in trade negotiations, maximising their impact in such negotiations. This is even more important in a globalised world in which economies tend to cluster together in regional groups.

The openness of the EU’s trade regime has meant that the EU is the biggest player on the global trading scene and remains a good region to do business with. Thanks to the ease of modern transport and communications, it is now easier to produce, buy and sell goods around the world which gives European companies of every size the potential to trade outside Europe.