Foreign Trade Indices Down in 2020 Q3 - HCP

Foreign trade indices have declined during the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).

The index of unit values ​​for imports has declined by 5% while the index of unit values ​​for exports has dropped by 1%, HCP said in a briefing note on Foreign Trade indices for 2020 Q3.

On import, the decrease mainly due to the decrease in unit values ​​of “energy and lubricants” (28%), “semi-finished products” (2.7%), “raw products of mineral origin” (32.3%), “food, beverages and tobacco” (1.7%) and “raw products of animal and vegetable origin” (2%), the same source explained.

The average index values of “finished consumer goods”, “finished industrial equipment products” and “finished agricultural equipment products” have increased by 2.6%, 0.3% and 4.5% respectively, thus mitigating the fall in the overall import index, it added.

With regard to exports, the decline is mainly explained by the decrease in the unit values of “semi-finished products” (7.2%), “finished consumer products” (0.8%), “raw products of mineral origin” (5.5%) and “food, beverages and tobacco” (0.7%).

This index value of “finished industrial equipment products” increased by 4.7%, while “raw animal and vegetable products” and “finished agricultural equipment products” posted a 9.1% and 2.7% improvement respectively.