VAT-turnover in March-April 2020 decreased in most sectors. In this period, the Covid-19 pandemic started to affect the economy. The highest decrease was in “travel agencies, tour operator reservation service and related activities” (-76.6%), “Food and beverage service activities” (-54.4%), “Car rentals” (-41.0%), and “Wholesale of fuels” (-33.0%).
Increased turnover in some sectors
VAT-turnover increased in some sectors, e.g. “Information and communication” (+12.5%), “Retail trade” (+4.7%), “Wholesale excluding fish and fuels”, and “Electricity, gas; water supply; sewerage and waste management”. Some of these sectors are dependent upon exchange rates, as the value of the Icelandic krona dropped by 11% from March-April 2019 to March-April 2020. The increased turnover in information and communication is due to increased turnover in the subcategories “Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities” (+89%) and “Computer programming, consultancy and related activities” (+18%).
| Turnover according to VAT-reports (billion ISK) | ||||||
| March-April 2019 | March-April 2020 | % | May 2018 - April 2019 | May 2019 - April 2020 | % | |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry¹ | 730 | 657 | -10.0 | 4,633 | 4,540 | -2.0 |
| Agriculture and forestry² | .. | .. | .. | 52 | 52 | 0.8 |
| A-031/C-102 Fishing and fish processing | 67 | 64 | -4.5 | 365 | 381 | 4.2 |
| A-032 Aquaculture | 5 | 4 | -28.2 | 20 | 30 | 49.3 |
| C-24 Manufacture of basic metals | 43 | 42 | -2.2 | 262 | 227 | -13.1 |
| C Manufacturing; excluding fish processing,pharmaceutical industry and manufacture of basic metals | 68 | 68 | 0.2 | 436 | 429 | -1.5 |
| D/E Electricity, gas;water supply; sewerage and waste management | 33 | 34 | 3.6 | 192 | 193 | 0.8 |
| F/B Construction, mining and quarrying | 53 | 47 | -11.5 | 363 | 357 | -1.7 |
| G-45 Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 25 | 22 | -11.0 | 158 | 141 | -10.9 |
| G-46171/G-46172/G-46381 Wholesale of fish and fish markets | 48 | 43 | -10.9 | 246 | 248 | 1.0 |
| G-4671 Wholesale of fuels | 23 | 15 | -33.0 | 140 | 141 | 0.4 |
| G-46 Other wholesale | 60 | 62 | 3.4 | 363 | 381 | 4.9 |
| G-47 Retail trade | 76 | 80 | 4.7 | 482 | 502 | 4.1 |
| H Transportation and storage | 63 | 40 | -37.2 | 476 | 394 | -17.3 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 27 | 12 | -54.4 | 202 | 184 | -8.9 |
| J Information and communication | 39 | 44 | 12.5 | 242 | 255 | 5.6 |
| N-7711 Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | 6 | 4 | -41.0 | 51 | 45 | -12.4 |
| N-79 Travel agencies, tour operator reservation service and related activities | 16 | 4 | -76.6 | 115 | 100 | -13.2 |
| Foreign enterprises selling e-services to households in Iceland | 4 | 4 | -14.0 | 20 | 21 | 5.6 |
| Other fields of activity | 71 | 67 | -5.6 | 447 | 458 | 2.6 |
| ¹ For the time being, VAT-turnover is published excluding the pharmaceutical industry. Data validation is ongoing. | ||||||
| ² Many farmers report VAT biannually, in accordance with paragraph 31 of the VAT-laws. Hence, bimonthly data do not reflect the turnover in agriculture. | ||||||
Turnover in May-June 2020
Data on VAT-turnover in May-June 2020 will be published on 27 August.
Revision of statistics
At the time of our press release in May, the VAT turnover, excluding the pharmaceutical industry, in January to February 2020 was estimated 662.9 billion ISK which was a decrease of 1.7 % compared with the same period in 2019. At present, more data are available and the VAT turnover in January to February 2020 is estimated 649.8 billion ISK, a decrease of 4.0% compared with the same period in 2019.
Other statistics on business economy
Statistics Iceland publishes annual income and balance statements of enterprises by activity, based on tax returns, providing a detailed picture of the individual sectors.
Statistics
The tourism industry
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