External trade in goods, annual series, 2004

These tables and figures contain statistics grouped by the main commodity classifications for goods in external trade, the SITC (The UN Standard International Trade Classification) and the HS (Harmonised System - the international combined customs and statistical nomenclature). The tables are time series, with most of them covering the period 1999 to 2004. However, some cover a shorter period, while the table for crude oil and natural gas covers the period from 1976. Moreover, figures 1-4 cover the period 1985 to 2004, figures 5 and 6 the period 1991 to 2004, while the rest of the figures only cover 2004.

Tables 9 to 12 provide results for two-digit SITC aggregates, whereas table 21 shows results by three-digit SITC. Results by HS chapter are found in tables 13 to 16. Tables 24 to 30 are examples of external trade statistics at the most detailed commodity levels, eight-digit national nomenclature (in accordance with the HS) and five-digit SITC. The Norwegian commodity texts used are short versions of the complete texts.

Tables 1 to 4 contain main figures of the Norwegian external trade. The external trade excluding ships and oil platforms (table 3) corresponds to the format of the monthly articles on Statistics Norway's web site. Main figures by broad economic category (Broad Economic Categories- BEC) are in tables 5 to 8. Imports excluding ships and oil platforms, and exports excluding crude oil and natural gas as well, are often referred to as traditional imports and traditional exports.

The Norwegian external trade by trade area, continent and partner country is shown in tables 17 and 18, imports by country of origin and exports by country of destination. All countries are included, grouped by continent. The trade areas are defined according to their delimitation in 2004. On the other hand, the annual figures on trade with each individual country reflect the country's status in each year. As an example, see Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. This principle also applies to table 22, the most extensive table in the publication, on imports and exports by partner country, by two-digit SITC commodity groups. Commodity groups are specified on the basis of a cut-off defined as imports and/or exports of goods of a minimum of NOK 1 million in at least one of the three years in the table, 2002-2004.

The so-called electronic commerce is evolving rapidly, in the context of international trade. There are no special groupings for this commerce in the tables. The concept of electronic commerce may pertain to the electronic ordering of goods for delivery by traditional means of transportation, or the ordering and electronic delivery of goods such as software. The customs' clearance formality does not encompass any recording of the way the goods are ordered. In the context of the international HS nomenclature, there has been a discussion on the feasibility of introducing separate commodity numbers for software delivered electronically. As of today, mass-produced as well as customised software are included in the Norwegian external trade statistics, whereas the balance of payments (BOP) statistics reclassify imports and exports of customised software as trade in services. The OECD is in the process of preparing guidelines on the definitions of scope and measurement of electronic commerce, an undertaking in which Norway is participating.

Selected external trade areas are presented in more detail in tables 23 to 44, highlighting some commodity flows, and at the same time serving as examples of time series on detailed commodity levels. There are tables on imports of food, imports from developing countries, exports of fish and fish products, engineering products, metals, crude oil and natural gas. The tables on imports of foodstuff and exports of fish list commodities ranked by value in 2004, at detailed, eight-digit commodity level (with some adaptations necessitated by changes in the nomenclature during the years). The exports of engineering products and metals correspond to the aggregates used for analytical purposes.

Contemplating the imports from developing countries under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a main point of interest may be to what extent the entitlement to preferential treatment is actually utilised. Since the GSP system was established in 1971, the range of eligible commodities and the number of countries covered by the system have increased. However, the number of countries has decreased slightly in the last few years due to the establishment of several free trade agreements.

The range of eligible commodities has also been reduced because of the fact that more commodities are duty free.

As of today, nearly one hundred developing countries may be granted preferences according to the GSP. About one fourth of them are classified in the subset of least developed countries (LDC). Tables 35 and 37 show the development of the Norwegian imports from developing countries by the delimitation utilised in the Statistical Yearbook of Norway, and by the GSP and the LDC aggregates. This information is neither shown in the monthly statistics nor in the yearbook. Table 37 shows figures from some of the most important individual GSP/LDC partner countries, in terms of imports eligible for preferential treatment. For countries that are considered to be GSP or LDC, refer to the appendix.

The unstabilised crude oil transported by pipeline from the Ekofisk Centre to Teesside is recorded as exports to the United Kingdom (UK), along with the Norwegian portion of the crude oil from the British oil field Murchison to Sullom Voe. Pursuant to separation into stabilised crude oil and NGL, some of it is shipped back to Norway, and included as imports from the UK. As a supplement to the official Norwegian export statistics, tables 42 and 43 show the final distribution by country of the shipments of stabilised crude oil and NGL out of Teesside and Sullom Voe. Table 44 shows the partner country distribution of the aggregate of all shipments of Norwegian crude oil directly from the oil fields and from terminals in Norway and the UK.

Some main results

In 1999, imports amounted to NOK 266.7 billion and increased to NOK 283.3 billion in 2003, measured in current prices. In 2004, imports came to NOK 326.0 billion.

Exports rose from NOK 355.2 billion in 1999 to NOK 482.9 billion in 2003, while exports in 2004 came to NOK 553.3 billion. Both imports and exports were the highest ever, and the trade surplus was the second highest. This is mainly due to the high oil prices after 2000.

Trade with ships and oil platforms, figures that normally vary substantially, made up between 1 and 7 per cent of the total trade in the period 1999-2004, for imports as well as exports.

The export value of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas condensates increased by 19.7 per cent in 2004 compared with figures from 2003, see figure 2. The annual growth rate was negative in both 2001 and 2002, though positive again since 2003. The value of crude oil, natural gas and NGL in 2004 made up as much as 58.7 per cent of total exports excluding ships and oil platforms. This is the same level as in 2000, which had the highest share ever recorded.

In the period 2002-2003, the value index of exports of traditional goods showed a slight increase. In contrast, the rise from 2003 to 2004 was considerable, see figure 6. The level of exports in 2004, NOK 225.8 billion, was slightly higher than the average of the last 5-year period. This was mainly due to higher exports of iron, steel and other metals during the last two years. The iron and steel export growth was especially strong in 2004 (see table 11). Secondly, the exports of fish rose from 2003 to 2004, after showing a decline every year since 2000.

The import of traditional goods has been quite changeable during the period 1999-2004 (see figure 5). There was a strong growth from 1999 to 2000, then a small growth in 2001. During 2002, there was a considerable drop in imports, compared to a small recovery in 2003 and quite a big jump in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, the value index jumped by 15.5 per cent.

What is more, figure 5 shows that the volume index of imports of traditional goods increased by 10.9 per cent in 2004 compared with 2003 and by only 2.9 per cent in 2003 compared with figures from 2002. These changes are related to a boom in the Norwegian economy and increased imports from China, especially clothes, shoes and electronics.

According to the same figure, the price index of imported traditional goods increased by 4.1 per cent from 2003 to 2004, while figure 6 shows that the price index of exported traditional commodities rose by 9 per cent. Tables on quarterly and annual indices of price and volume are published at this website: External trade in goods, table 50, 4th Quarter 2007.

In 2004, exports of crude oil came to NOK 237.5 billion, up from 195.7 billion in 2003 (see table 38). The increase is due to a rise in the average price of oil, from NOK 206 per barrel in 2003 to NOK 256 in 2004. Quantity exported showed a decrease of about 23.4 million barrels. Exports of natural gas brought in NOK 74.0 billion in 2004, up from 62.2 billion in 2003. It is worth noticing that exported quantity, 76.2 billion Sm3 (standard cubic meter) is the highest ever. The last all-time high was in 2003; 71.1 billion Sm3. The price was slightly up, by an average of NOK 0.09.

The number of barrels of crude oil exported in 2004 amounted to 926.6 million, of which 758 million barrels were stabilised crude oil shipped from the installations on the Continental Shelf or from onshore terminals (Mongstad and Sture). The remaining 168.6 million barrels were unstabilised crude oil, transported by pipeline to the Norwegian-owned terminals in the UK (Teesside and Sullom Voe) for separation and fractionating into stabilised crude oil and NGL (see table 40).

When also including mineral oil products, gases etc., the total export of energy goods amounted to NOK 352.8 billion (see table 7). This is 63.8 per cent of total Norwegian exports in 2004, a slight increase compared with the figures from 2003 when the share was 61.3 per cent.

In the same table we find that exports of capital goods amounted to NOK 28.7 billion in 2004. This was a decrease of as much as 17.8 per cent compared with 2003 when the value was NOK 34.9 billion. The average amount for the period 1999-2002 was NOK 34.6 billion. Exports of other intermediate goods amounted to NOK 114.0, up from NOK 100.1 in 2003. The average amount for the period 1999-2002 was NOK 98.9 billion. Exports of transport equipment excluding passenger cars amounted to NOK 8.4 billion in 2004, down by a third compared to 2003. Exports of other capital goods decreased by a tenth to NOK 20.3 billion.

Furthermore, exports of goods for consumption rose significantly from 1999 to 2000. It subsequently flattened out and later dropped quite dramatically both in 2002 and 2003. Since exports of consumption goods are constituted mainly of fish, the lower export value is mainly due to the fact that the exports revenue of fish has decreased. The reduction in export value of fresh and chilled farm bred salmon in particular contributed to this outcome. In 2004, the export of consumption goods rose again and came to NOK 39.8 billion. Also, the average price of salmon showed a slight increase during 2004.

The value of imports of passenger cars came to NOK 19.3 billion in 2004, an increase of 32.2 per cent compared with 2003, when the amount was 14.6 billion, see table 5. The value of the import of capital goods in 2004 was NOK 61.1 billion, an increase of 13.6 per cent compared with figures from 2003. However, 2000 was a peak year when similar imports came to NOK 80.2 billion, while the average for the period 1994-2004 was NOK 64.7 billion. It is mainly the import of transport equipment excluding passenger cars that has declined.

Moreover, the import of consumer goods came to NOK 77.6 billion in 2004. This is an increase of 8.5 per cent compared with 2003. Besides, the import of intermediate goods for further production came to NOK 119.7 billion in 2004, an increase of 16.4 per cent compared with the previous year.

In 2004, the annual trade with European countries was 76.4 per cent for exports of traditional goods and 76.1 per cent for imports (see figure 11 and 12). The exports value to Europe remained the same as in 2003, while imports dropped by one per cent. In 2004, exports to Asia came to NOK 24.3 billion, a share of 10.8 per cent, slightly up compared with 2003 when the share was 10.6 per cent. Imports from Asia in 2004 came to NOK 41.1 billion, a share of 12.8 per cent. Exports to North America amounted to NOK 22.6 billion - a share of 10.0 per cent, slightly down from 2003 when the share was 10.3 per cent. Imports from North America amounted to NOK 25.1 billion in 2004, and the share has been sinking since 2000. However, the decrease from 2003 to 2004 was insignificant; only 0.1 per cent.