UK Imports More From China than Germany for First Time

UK Imports More From China than Germany for First Time

For the first time, since records began, the UK has imported more goods from China than anywhere else in the world. Germany had been the UK’s biggest import market since 1997.

The UK remains the second-largest economy in the European region (despite it leaving the EU) behind Germany.

According to BBC News, goods from China rose 66% from 2018 to the first quarter of 2021. Shipments from Germany fell by a quarter in the same period. The information was provided by the UK’s Office for National Statistics.

In currency terms, imports from China have risen to £16.9bn (US$24bn) in the first quarter of this year, while imports from Germany fell by a quarter to £12.5bn (US$17.7bn) in the same period.

It comes at a time when China’s economy has grown 18.3% in a post-Covid comeback. “The national economy made a good start,” said China’s National Bureau of Statistics, which released the first-quarter data.

Commentators are saying that a combination of factors including Brexit and Covid-19 are responsible for the dramatic change in imports with some saying the trends may continue.

Other key points from the Office of National Statistics included:

• Total trade in goods (imports plus exports) from non-EU countries surpassed that from EU countries in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2021.
• Total trade in goods with EU countries decreased by 23.1% and with non-EU countries decreased by 0.8% comparing Quarter 1 2021 with Quarter 1 2018.

Related:

• IDC Reveals European MFP Market Shipments Continue to Grow
• China to Ban Solid Waste Imports
• Anti-dumping Duty Added to Black Toner Imports
• Is India Ready to Cut Imports and Develop Manufacturing?

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