EXCLUSIVE: Who does Brexit Britain sell most to in the EU?

Latest trade figures reveal the EU’s biggest buyers of UK’s goods and services

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2022

A Facts4EU.Org follow-up report on Brexit Britain’s trade with the EU27

Yesterday Facts4EU.Org, with our affiliate CIBUK.Org, published a report which caused quite a stir and generated a large amount of comment. We showed how the UK’s exports of goods and services to the EU had risen by 26.6%, comparing Q1 2022 with Q1 2016 – just before the Referendum.

In today’s follow-up report we show that 10 EU countries account for almost 90% of purchases from the UK’s exporters, and we answer the question:

Just who in the EU is buying from Brexit Britain?

Once again we are using the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics this week. The following table and chart aggregates the 12 months of export figures from Q2 2021 to Q1 2022 and is as up-to-date as you can get.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The EU’s Top 10 buyers of Brexit Britain’s goods and services

12 months from 01 Apr 2021 – 31 Mar 2022 in £'s billions

  1. Germany : £48.3
  2. Ireland : £45.1
  3. Netherlands : £44.2
  4. France : £33.3
  5. Belgium : £21.0
  6. Italy : £14.5
  7. Spain : £13.7
  8. Sweden : £9.6
  9. Luxembourg : £9.2
  10. Denmark : £6.5

[Source: Latest ONS official data, UK total trade, seasonally adjusted, released Wed 27 July 2022.]

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge

Our analysis reveals some surprises

Looking at the Top 5, it is no surprise that Germany – as the EU’s largest economy – buys the most from the UK. However Germany is closely followed by Ireland and the Netherlands, with France and Belgium trailing behind.

The league table overall is no respecter of the size of the respective countries’ economies. For example Austria is beaten by Czechia and Hungary. Here is the list of the EU's 20 biggest buyers of goods and services from the UK, this time with their ranking by economic size in brackets.

  1. Germany (1)
  2. Ireland (10)
  3. Netherlands (5)
  4. France (2)
  5. Belgium (8)
  6. Italy (3)
  7. Spain (4)
  8. Sweden (7)
  9. Luxembourg (19)
  10. Denmark (11)
  11. Poland (6)
  12. Czechia (14)
  13. Hungary (17)
  14. Austria (10)
  15. Portugal (15)
  16. Finland (12)
  17. Greece (16)
  18. Romania (13)
  19. Slovakia (18)
  20. Cyprus (26)

Some more interesting statistics

  • Almost 70% of purchases come from just five EU countries
  • The Top 10 account for nearly 90%
  • The remaining 17 EU countries buy just 10.9% of the EU’s total purchases from the UK

Observations

Upsetting some people...

Our report yesterday showing Brexit Britain is now exporting 26.6% more to the EU than just before the Referendum did not go down well with Remainer-Rejoiners.

Still, the official facts are the official facts – we only analyse and report them, as the BBC seems less than interested.

With our follow-up report today we have shown how less than half of EU27 countries account for almost 90% of the UK’s sales to the bloc. We have also shown how the biggest buyers of UK goods and services in the EU are not necessarily the largest economies in the EU.

Remember “The UK’s economy will fall over a cliff edge”?

Back in 2016 in an effort to scare voters into remaining in the European Union we were told that the UK’s economy would fall over a cliff edge if we voted to leave. Well, we did and it didn’t.

Not only that, but the EU27 are buying more from us now that we’ve left their Union.

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[ Sources: Office for National Statistics | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 29 July 2022

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