Wales has seen a big rise in the value of goods it exports but still has a trade deficit of more than £3bn, according to provisional figures from the Welsh Government. The new data shows Welsh firms exported £20.5bn worth of goods to markets around the world in 2022.
This was up 34.9% ( £5.3bn) when compared to 2021 and £2.8bn more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Imported goods to Wales were valued at £24.1bn in 2022 - up 49.3% ( £8bn) on the previous year and £5.9bn when compared to the pre-pandemic year in 2019.
When measuring export values against the value of imported goods this left Wales with a trade deficit of £3.6bn. Though it must be noted that wider global events such as the war in Ukraine and inflation have had an impact on the value of trade with oil, petroleum products and related materials particularly affected.
