Hungary's External Trade Deficit Deteriorates

The deficit of the external trade in goods in Hungary was EUR 413 million in January, the adjusted volume of export decreased by 0.5%, while that of import increased by 5.0%, compared to December, as shown by a new report by the country's Central Statistical Office (KSH).

In January 2023, the volume of export was 9.0% and that of import was 11% higher than in the same period of the previous year. The deficit was EUR 413 million, the balance deteriorated by EUR 170 million year-on-year. Compared to December, the seasonally and working-day adjusted volume of export decreased by 0.5%, while that of import increased by 5.0%.

In January 2023:
The value of export amounted to EUR 12.2 billion (HUF 4,852 billion), that of import to EUR 12.6 billion (HUF 5,026 billion).

In January 2023 compared to a year earlier:
The value of export increased by 17% and that of import grew by 18% in EUR terms.

According to calendar-adjusted data, the volume of export grew by 5.2% and that of import by 8.2%.

The balance of external trade in goods deteriorated by EUR 170 million (being EUR 248 million less favorable than the value published in the first estimate).

The HUF price level of the external trade in goods rose by 18% in export and by 17% in import compared to the same month of the previous year. The terms of trade improved by 1.0%. The HUF exchange rate weakened by 10% against the EUR and by 16% against the US dollar.

Calculated at the January 2022 prices, the export and the import of machinery and transport equipment grew by 21% in both directions. The export volume of road vehicles increased by nearly one-third, their import volume was up by nearly one-fifth. The export volume of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances went up by more than one-seventh, their import volume grew by nearly the same value compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The export volume of office machines and automatic data processing machines grew by more than a half and their import volume was up by nearly one-third. The export volume of telecommunication and sound recording and reproducing apparatus increased by nearly one-tenth, their import volume grew by nearly one-third.
The export volume of power generating machinery and equipment did not change, while their import volume increased by more than one-third. The aggregate commodity group of machinery and transport equipment contributed to the total turnover increase in export by 11 percentage points and supported the growth on the import side by 8.7 percentage points.

The export volume of manufactured goods decreased by 3.3% and their import volume lessened by 0.3%. The volume reduction on both sides of the trade were mainly due to the turnover of the iron and steel and plastics in primary forms trade. The aggregate commodity group of manufactured goods decreased the volume growth of total exports by 1.1 percentage points and lowered the volume growth in total imports by 0.1 percentage point.