- Data extracted in November 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
The trade of raw materials is extremely important for the sustainability of European countries and their economies. Construction, chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery and equipment are some of the sectors that more depend on access to raw materials.[1]
Furthermore, the high costs of energy along with the dependence of the European Union (EU) on energy imports acknowledges the importance of ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials to the EU economy and defines strategies aiming to meet these challenges.
,_EU-28,_2003%E2%80%9313.png)
(EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (tet00006)
(EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (tet00006)
,_2003_and_2012.png)
(EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introle)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (tet00033)
(EUR 1 000 million)
Source: Eurostat (tsdgp220)
(EUR 1 000 million)
Source: Eurostat (tsdgp220)
(EUR 1 000 million)
Source: Eurostat (tsdgp230)
(%)
Source: Data compiled based on information from 'Defining critical raw materials' (http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical/index_en.htm)
,_EU-28,_2002%E2%80%9313.png)
(2010=100)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_intertrd)
Main statistical findings
The EU has an ongoing trade deficit in Raw materials (SITC sections 2 and 4, including non-manufactured goods like oilseeds, cork, wood, pulp, textile fibres, ores and other minerals as well as animal and vegetable oils) since 2002, the first year for which EU28 data are available. Both imports and exports have rapidly recovered from the low levels registered in 2009, and in 2013 the deficit amounted to EUR 30.8 billion. In 2013, the great majority of imports were metal ores, with a share of 41 %. Other products which have recorded a large share of imports include vegetable fats and oils and oilseeds.
As shown in Figure 1, in 2003 the trade balance deficit of raw materials in the EU-28 was ranked in EUR 24 816 million, which further expanded in 2008 almost by EUR 18 473 million. In 2009 the deficit decreased, reaching its lowest record (EUR 19 405 million) for the period 2003–13. The deficit kept increasing till 2011(EUR 40 366 million), and in the last two years started to reduce again and recorded EUR 30 758 million in 2013.
Looking at the total trade (both intra and extra-EU) of raw materials at country level (see Table 1), Germany, the Netherlands and Italy are the largest EU importers with EUR 39 629 million, EUR 23 088 million and EUR 18 887 million respectively, while Malta, Cyprus and Croatia recorded the lowest values (EUR 30 million, EUR 70 million and EUR 344 million respectively).
Regarding the exports of the EU Member States in raw materials, the trend was rather similar with the Netherlands, Germany and France presenting the highest values (EUR 28 098 million, EUR 22 641 million and EUR 11 517 million respectively), while the lowest were found in Malta (EUR 15 million), Cyprus (EUR 83 million) and Luxembourg (EUR 332 million).
At this point, it should be mentioned that the high values of imports and exports in the Netherlands and Belgium are a consequence of the ‘Rotterdam’ (or ‘Antwerp’) effect. The Rotterdam/Antwerp effect arises because imports from extra-EU are attributed to the EU Member State where the goods are put in free circulation, rather than the EU Member State of final destination. This particular mismatch is referred to as ‘the Rotterdam effect’ because of the importance of Rotterdam as a transit port.
Out of 28 EU Member States, 14 presented a surplus in their trade balance of raw materials (see Table 1). More specifically, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Romania and Latvia presented in 2013 the highest positive trade balance of raw materials with EUR 5 010 million, EUR 4 204 million, EUR 1 651 million, EUR 1 197 million and EUR 903 million respectively. On the other hand, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain held the highest negative balance of trade in raw materials. The trade deficit of these countries was EUR 16 988 million, EUR 12 264 million, EUR 5 035 million, EUR 4 303 million and EUR 3 906 million respectively.
Comparing the evolution of both imports and exports of raw materials in the EU-28 for the period 2003–13 (see Figure 3), it appears that both followed the same trend as they increased from 2003 until 2008, while in 2009 their figures dropped deeply as a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis. However, the imports of raw materials presented a larger decrease (2008: EUR 75 315 million vs 2009: EUR 47 270 million) compared with that of the exports of raw materials (2008: EUR 32 026 million vs 2009: EUR 27 866 million). This resulted from the global slowdown in early 2009, thus affecting the EU-28 demand for extra EU-28 raw materials. Furthermore, EU-28 imports of raw materials increased until peaking in 2011 (EUR 85 397 million) and then started to decrease until 2013 (EUR 76 023 million). Similarly, EU-28 exports grew steadily from 2009 until 2012 (EUR 19 687 million) and declined again in 2013 by EUR 2 289 million.
In 2012, the highest share of national imports in raw materials with the rest of the world as trading partner appeared in China (37.0 %), followed by the EU-28 (13.6 %) and Japan (8.2 %). The lowest shares of national imports in raw materials among the world’s main trading partners were found in Mexico (1.3 %), Brazil (0.7 %) and Singapore (0.6 %). Regarding the shares of national exports in raw materials, the United States, Brazil and the EU-28 top ranked with 14.0 %, 9.6 % and 8.9 % respectively, while Mexico, South Korea and Singapore were found at the other side of the range (1.2 %, 1.1 % and 0.4 % respectively).
Looking into the differences of the trade balance of raw materials between 2003 and 2012 (see Table 3), Brazil top ranked with an increased trade surplus (from EUR 10 229 million to EUR 46 729 million), followed by the United States (from EUR 10 614 million to EUR 39 929 million) and Canada (from EUR 11 451 million to EUR 24 247 million). China, on the other hand, top ranked with the largest difference in trade deficit of raw materials between 2003 and 2012 (– EUR 179 704 million). It should be mentioned that China has imposed export restrictions on rare earth elements (REE) [2], some of them having been categorised as critical raw materials. This could partially explain the Chinese figures.
EU-28 trade partners in raw materials
Brazil has been the EU’s leading supplier of raw materials imports since 2004. However, imports from Brazil have decreased by 22 % from 2012 to 2013 and were close to import levels from the United States, the second largest EU supplier (see Figure 4). Canada (5.9 %), Indonesia (5.5 %) and Russia (5.4 %) were the other main partner countries in terms of imports.
EU exports in raw materials were relatively low as they only made up less than 3 % of total EU exports. China top ranked among EU partners with a share of 22.2 %, followed by Turkey (10.5 %) and the United States (7.3 %).
EU imports of raw materials from developing and least-developed countries
The EU-28 imports a range of products from developing countries as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In 2013, the value of imported raw materials from developing countries amounted to EUR 36 300 million (see Figure 5). The share of EU imports of raw materials from developing countries in the total imports of raw materials has been stable throughout the last decade, varying between 50 % and 60 %, and in 2013 reached 47.8 %, the lowest share within this time series.
The EU-28 imports of raw materials from the developing countries during the period 2003–13, followed the aforementioned general trend. Specifically, imports have been steadily increasing from 2003 until 2008. In 2009 they decreased by EUR 16 400 million likely as a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis. However, in 2010 and 2011 imports increased again reaching EUR 50 900 million before dropping again in 2012 and 2013 (EUR 42 600 million and EUR 36 300 million respectively).
At country level (see Figure 6), in 2013 Germany presented the highest value in terms of imported raw materials from developing countries (EUR 6 700 million), followed by the Netherlands (EUR 5 000 million) and Italy (EUR 4 500 million).
EU-28 imports of raw materials from least-developed countries were relatively lower than imports from the developing countries but they seemed to follow the same trend (see Figure 7). Specifically, EU-28 imports of raw materials have been increasing steadily from 2003 (EUR 1 330 million) to 2008 (EUR 1 880 million). In 2009, the economic recession that also struck Europe led to a decrease of raw material imports from the least developed countries to EUR 1 230 million. Similarly to the developing countries, the imports from least-developed countries increased in 2010 (EUR 1 680 million) and 2011 (EUR 2 110 million) but fell again in 2012 and 2013 (EUR 1 970 million and EUR 1 840 million respectively).
Regarding the unit value [3] index of raw materials (as shown in Figure 8), which can be used as an approximation of the price movement, imports and exports almost followed the same trend. Specifically, the unit value index in imports and exports increased from 2002 to 2008 before dropping in 2009 and increasing again in 2010 and 2011. The import unit value index fell in 2012 and 2013, whereas the export unit value index increased slightly in 2012 before falling in 2013.
Critical raw materials
Raw materials are fundamental to the EU economy, and they play a key role in maintaining and improving the quality of life of European citizens. Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the number of materials used across products. Securing reliable and undistorted access of certain raw materials is of growing concern within the EU and across the globe. As a consequence, there is a high risk associated with their supply. Thus, within the framework of the EU Raw Materials Initiative, it was decided to identify a list of critical raw materials at EU level, in close cooperation with EU Member States and stakeholders.
A 2014 Commission communication set a revised list of ‘critical raw materials’ (COM (2014) 297 final). The 2014 list included 13 of the 14 materials identified in a previous list that was set up in 2011 (COM (2011) 25 final), with only tantalum moving out of the list (due to a reduction in supply risk), and the previous rare earth materials being divided into heavy rare earth material and light rare earth materials. Six new materials appeared on the list: borates, chromium, coking coal, magnesite, phosphate rock and silicon metal, bringing the number up to 20 raw materials which are now considered critical by the European Commission. The other 12 raw materials were: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, indium, magnesium, natural graphite, niobium, platinum group metals and tungsten.
China is the EU-28’s major supplier of critical raw materials but many other countries are also important suppliers of specific materials. EU primary supply across all candidate materials is estimated at around 9 %. In the case of critical raw materials, supply from the EU sources is even more limited [4].
Table 4 displays the EU’s major producers of critical raw materials, with China clearly being the most influential in terms of global supply. Several other countries hold dominant positions for specific raw materials, such as the United States (beryllium) and Brazil (niobium). Supply of other materials, for example platinum group metals and borates, is more diverse but still relatively concentrated.
Data sources and availability
Data sources
The sources for the statistics in this publication are essentially Eurostat for the EU-28. The statistical information is mainly provided by the traders on the basis of customs declarations. Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States and compiled according to a harmonised methodology established by EU regulations before transmission to Eurostat.
Comparability between EU international trade statistics and those of its main partners
There are two main approaches used for the measurement of international trade in goods, the general trade system and the special trade system. For extra-EU trade statistics, the special trade system is applied which means that goods from a non-EU country which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded in international trade in goods statistics unless they subsequently go into free circulation in the Member State of receipt (or are placed under the customs procedures for inward processing). Similarly, outgoing goods from customs warehouses are not recorded as exports. The general trade system, which is applied by most of the EU main partner countries, is a wider concept since it includes all goods entering or leaving the country.
SITC classification
International trade in goods statistics publishes figures according to the Standard International Trade Classification of the United Nations (Standard international trade classification (SITC)). At present the fourth revised version of the SITC is applied which has a five-level hierarchical structure with purely numerical coding. The SITC enables to make comparisons on a worldwide basis.
Context
In terms of percentage, the EU is highly dependent on imports of raw materials. For this reason, raw materials security and related strategies have become one of the key priorities in the EU’s external actions and form an integral component of the EU’s interior policy making. The foundations of these strategies were laid in three key documents:
- COM(2008) 699 final ‘The Raw Materials Initiative’;
- COM(2011) 25 final tackling the challenges in commodity markets and on raw materials); and
- COM(2014) 297 final on the review of the list of critical raw materials for the EU and the implementation of the raw materials initiative, based in the global economic situation and the EU’s high dependence on imports of certain raw materials.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
- International trade, see:
- International trade data (t_ext)
- International trade long-term indicators (t_ext_lti)
Database
- International trade, see:
- International trade data (ext)
- International trade long-term indicators (ext_lti)
- International trade (ext_lti_int)
Dedicated section
Methodology / Metadata
Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)
,_EU-28,_2013.png){kind=link}
Other information
External links
- European Commission — Directorate-General for Trade, EU Trade Policy for Raw Materials (second activity report)
- European Commission — Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Enterpreneuship and SMEs, Non-energy raw materials
- European Commission — Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Enterpreneuship and SMEs, Defining 'critical' raw materials
Notes
- Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council — The raw materials initiative — Meeting our critical needs for growth and jobs in Europe (SEC(2008) 2741). ↑
- Rare earth elements (REEs) are coveted minerals used in high-tech products. China has about 50 % of known world reserves and until very recently was behind 95 % of global supplies. It has reduced its export drastically since 2010. The export restrictions imposed by China on the rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum are mainly quotas, export duties, minimum export price system, as well as additional requirements and procedures for exporters. ↑
- When the expenditures or value of production of an item is divided by the quantity, the result is known as a unit value. (in: OECD Glossary of statistical terms, http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=5547). ↑
- ‘Defining “critical” raw materials’: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/raw-materials/critical/index_en.htm. ↑
[[Category:<subtheme category name(s)>|Name of the statistical article]] [[Category:<statistical article>|Name of the statistical article]]
Delete [[Category:Model|]] below (and this line as well) before saving!