Austria’s foreign trade in November was strongly impacted by weak foreign demand. Exports plunged by 14.7% compared to the previous year, totaling 16.32 billion euros, while imports declined less sharply by 3.9%, reaching 16.51 billion euros. The trade deficit amounted to 0.19 billion euros. According to Statistics Austria on Friday, the decline in trade with Germany significantly weighed on the balance.
“In November, exports to Germany shrank by 3.4%, marking the seventh decline in the first eleven months of 2024. Imports from Germany also dropped in November 2024 for the ninth time, decreasing by 3.3%,” said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.
Exports to the entire EU from Austria totaled 11.08 billion euros, which was 18.1% lower than in November of the previous year. However, imports from the EU fell by only 2.1% to 10.82 billion euros. The trade surplus with the EU stood at 0.26 billion euros. In contrast, Austria recorded a deficit of 0.45 billion euros with non-EU countries. Exports to non-EU countries dropped by 6.6% to 5.24 billion euros, while imports from non-EU countries fell by 7.1% to 5.69 billion euros.
Significant Export Declines in Chemical Products
The most significant export declines were recorded in chemical products (down 40.5% to 1.93 billion euros), followed by machinery and vehicles (down 9.7% to 0.65 billion euros). However, there were increases in exports of food (up 4.4% to 0.05 billion euros) and “other goods” (up 40.2% to 0.09 billion euros).
From January to November, preliminary data shows that exports fell by 4.8% to 177.71 billion euros, while imports decreased by 7.6% to 174.65 billion euros. The overall trade balance recorded a surplus of 3.06 billion euros.
