First-half trends in Finnish-Chinese trade slightly more upbeat than Finnish foreign trade overall

Finnish Customs figures put the value of goods exports to China in the first six months of the year at €1.27 billion, a decrease of 4 % y-o-y. The overall value of goods exports fell by 5 %. Imports from China increased 1 % y-o-y to €1.9 billion, while the overall value of imports fell by 1 %. China is Finland’s fifth most important trading partner, accounting for 5 % of Finnish goods exports and 7 % of goods imports.

The structure of exports to China has remained largely unchanged in that machinery & equipment account for over a third of exports. Pulp was the single largest export item in 1H16, accounting of nearly a fifth of the value of Finnish exports to China. Exports of wood and wooden products increased sharply, accounting for about 10 % of the value of Finnish exports. Exports of furskins, in contrast, declined rapidly and their share of total exports fell from 15 % in 1H15 to 5 % this year. About 30 % of Finland’s exports of pulp and nearly half of its fur exports go to China.

About half of Finland’s imports from China consists of machinery & equipment, and their imports have followed the trend of overall imports. Imports of clothing and footwear rose 6 % y-o-y in 1H16, accounting for 15 % of imports overall. A third of Finland’s clothing and footwear imports come from China. Other imports consist of a diverse mix of goods.

The number of Chinese travellers visiting Finland has increased rapidly. In the first half of the year, Finnish hotel and inn accommodations served over 60,000 Chinese guests, an increase of 39 % y-o-y. Chinese guests accounted for 5 % of foreign guests staying in Finnish accommodation establishments.

Finnish-Chinese trade

Source: Finnish Customs.