Please note that this press release was corrected 29 May 2015 at 09:12
Balance of trade
The value of exported goods from Iceland amounted to nearly ISK 221,900 million fob and the value of imported goods amounted to just over ISK 216,600 million fob (ISK 231,000 million cif) in the first four months of 2015. Thus there was a trade surplus, calculated on fob value, of ISK 5,200 million as compared with a trade deficit of ISK 2,800 million in the first four months of 2014, at current rates of exchange¹.
Exports
The total value of exports of goods the first four months of 2015 was ISK 47,300 million or 27.1% higher at current rates of exchange than in the same period the year before. Exported manufacturing products were 55.9% of total exported goods and their value was 40.7% more than in the same period the year before, mainly due to aluminium. Marine products were 40% of the total exports and their value 18% more than the same period the year before, mainly because of fish meal.
Imports
The total value of imports of goods in the first four months of 2015 was ISK 39,300 million or 22.2% higher at current rates of exchange than in the same period the year before, mainly because of industrial supplies and aircraft. However, the imports of fuels decreased.
| The value of exports and imports January-April 2015 | |||
| Million ISK at current exchange rate | Change on prev. | ||
| January- | January- | year at current | |
| April | April | exch. rates, % | |
| 2014 | 2015 | Jan.-March | |
| Exports fob, total | 174,575.3 | 221,890.4 | 27.1 |
| Marine products | 75,213.4 | 88,773.0 | 18.0 |
| Agricultural products | 4,047.3 | 5,296.1 | 30.9 |
| Manufacturing products | 88,178.0 | 124,070.6 | 40.7 |
| Other products | 7,136.5 | 3,750.6 | -47.4 |
| Imports fob, total | 177,357.1 | 216,647.0 | 22.2 |
| Food and beverages | 16,838.3 | 20,358.7 | 20.9 |
| Industrial supplies n.e.s. | 50,811.4 | 64,404.1 | 26.8 |
| Fuels and lubricants | 27,919.7 | 24,359.9 | -12.8 |
| Capital goods (except for transport) | 40,721.6 | 40,375.3 | -0.9 |
| Transport equipment | 18,485.4 | 40,804.2 | . |
| Consumer goods n.e.s. | 22,268.7 | 25,769.4 | 15.7 |
| Goods n.e.s. | 311.9 | 575.5 | 84.5 |
| Balance of trade | -2,781.8 | 5,243.3 | · |
¹ Statistics Iceland does no longer publish trade in goods at constant exchange rates. On Statistics Iceland website is available table of the breakdown of trade in goods by currencies.
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 of time.