The value of exported goods from Iceland amounted to 51.8 billion ISK fob in January 2020 and the value of imported goods amounted to 50.6 billion ISK fob (56.3 billion ISK cif). Thus there was a trade surplus, calculated on fob value, of 1.3 billion ISK as compared with a trade surplus of 24.1 billion ISK in January 2019, at current rates of exchange.1
It should be noted that in January 2019, ships and aircrafts where exported for 19.4 billon ISK. Excluding ships and aircrafts the surplus of balance of trade in goods was 2.5 million ISK in January 2019, compared with the surplus of 4.7 billion ISK in the same month the year before.
Largest increase in exports of seafood
The total value of exports of goods in January 2020 was 24.7 billion ISK lower (32.3%) than in the same period the year before, at current rates of exchange.1 Exported manufacturing products contributed 48% of total exported goods and their value was 18% lower than last year. Marine products contributed 44.3% of the total exports and their value was 3% higher than in 20191. The largest increase was due to the exports of marine products, mainly frozen whole fish and frozen fish fillets. On the other hand there was a decrease in the export of fresh fish.
Value of imports 1.8 billion ISK lower
The total value of imports of goods in January 2020 was 1.8 billion ISK lower (3.5%) than in 2019, at current rates of exchange.1 The imports of transport equipment, fuels and consumer goods increases while other fields decreases.
| The value of exports and imports in January 2019 and 2020 | |||
| Million ISK at current exchange rate | Change on prev. year at current exchange rates % January- | ||
| January | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Exports | 76,557.9 | 51,832.1 | -32.3 |
| Marine pr | 22,311.1 | 22,971.1 | 3.0 |
| Agricultur | 3,054.0 | 2,893.4 | -5.3 |
| Manufact | 30,329.2 | 24,859.1 | -18.0 |
| Other pro | 20,863.6 | 1,108.4 | -94.7 |
| Imports | 52,419.5 | 50,574.4 | -3.5 |
| Food and | 6,092.3 | 4,536.8 | -25.5 |
| Industrial | 13,932.2 | 9,968.7 | -28.4 |
| Fuels and | 5,716.3 | 7,508.5 | 31.4 |
| Capital g | 14,444.1 | 11,635.8 | -19.4 |
| Transport | 4,622.2 | 9,118.0 | 97.3 |
| Consume | 7,565.8 | 7,794.0 | 3.0 |
| Goods n. | 46.5 | 12.7 | -72.8 |
| Balance | 24,138.4 | 1,257.6 | |
1 Statistics Iceland does no longer publish trade in goods at constant exchange rates. The breakdown of trade in goods by currencies is available on Statistics Iceland’s website.
*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 in time. *