Please note that this press release is no longer valid. A corrected version has been published in its place.
The value of exported goods from Iceland amounted to 60.9 billion ISK fob in March 2020 and the value of imported goods amounted to 68.9 billion ISK fob (73.6 billion ISK cif). Thus, there was a trade deficit, calculated on fob value, of nearly 8 billion ISK as compared with a trade deficit of 8.8 billion ISK in March 2019 at current rates of exchange.1
Trade balance difference in March 2020 versus March 2019 was 0.8 billion ISK. The balance of trade deficit in March, without ships and aircrafts, was 3.1 billion ISK fob in 2020 compared with the traded deficit of 11.9 billion ISK fob in 2019. The difference was 8.8 billion ISK, without ships and aircrafts.
Increase in exports of seafood
The total value of exports of goods in the first three months of 2020 was 13.3 billion ISK lower (7.6%) than in the same period the year before at current rates of exchange. This decrease in export is due to transactions with ships and aircrafts in January 2019. Marine products contributed 46.7% of total exported goods and their value was 19.2% higher than last year. The increase in exports of marine products is mainly in frozen whole fish and frozen fish fillets. Manufacturing products contributed 44.9% of the total exports and their value was 6.5% lower than in 2019.1
Value of imports 5.2 billion ISK lower
The total value of imports of goods in the first three months of 2020 was 5.2 billion ISK lower (3%) than in 2019 at current rates of exchange.1 The imports decreased in every category except in imports of transport equipment and consumer goods.
| The value of exports and imports in January-March 2019 and 2020 | |||
| Million ISK at current exchange rate | Change on prev. year at current exchange rates % January-March | ||
| January-March | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Exports fob, total | 173,954.7 | 160,663.6 | -7.6 |
| Marine products | 63,008.9 | 75,076.9 | 19.2 |
| Agricultural products | 7,809.3 | 9,565.6 | 22.5 |
| Manufacturing products | 77,219.7 | 72,190.2 | -6.5 |
| Other products | 25,916.8 | 3,830.9 | -85.2 |
| Imports fob, total | 174,209.7 | 169,053.8 | -3.0 |
| Food and beverages | 15,847.1 | 15,795.3 | -0.3 |
| Industrial supplies n.e.s. | 51,760.9 | 44,955.9 | -13.1 |
| Fuels and lubricants | 18,641.7 | 17,584.6 | -5.7 |
| Capital goods (except for transport) | 45,297.8 | 35,966.5 | -20.6 |
| Transport equipment | 17,789.9 | 28,491.2 | 60.2 |
| Consumer goods n.e.s. | 24,776.9 | 26,209.8 | 5.8 |
| Goods n.e.s. | 95.4 | 50.4 | -47.1 |
| Balance of trade | -255.0 | -8,390.1 | |
¹ Statistics Iceland does no longer publish trade in goods at constant exchange rates. The breakdown of trade in goods by currencies is available on Statistics Iceland’s website.
*Monthly figures of external trade for current year are revised together with the release of figures for new months. Annual figures are published in the first half of the year after the end of the reference year. The figures are considered as final at that point in time. *