In 2023, EU exports of chemicals and related products decreased to €523 billion, a decline of 5% compared with the record high value of exports in 2022 (€552 billion). The value of chemical imports from non-EU countries into the EU fell 10% to €326 billion, down from €363 billion in the previous year.
The chemicals category includes products such as chemical materials and products, fertilisers, medical and pharmaceutical products, and plastics.
Among EU countries, the top 5 exporters to countries outside the EU were Germany (€130 billion), Belgium (€67 billion), Ireland (€64 billion), France (€52 billion) and the Netherlands (€45 billion).
Source dataset: ds-018995
The main extra-EU destinations were the United States (€139 billion), Switzerland (€56 billion), the United Kingdom (€48 billion), China (€40 billion) and Türkiye (€17 billion).
Regarding imports of chemical and related products, Germany was the largest importer from non-EU countries in 2023 (€55 billion), ahead of Belgium (€50 billion), the Netherlands (€43 billion), Italy (€29 billion) and France (€27 billion).
Source: Eurostat, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=ddn-20241106-1
