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MARKET BRIEFING – BELGIUM
GENERAL INFORMATION
Location : Western Europe, on the North Sea coast, between France and the Netherlands.
Area (km2): 32,545
Capital: Brussels
Bordering countries: Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France
Population (million): 10,4
2004 MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATORS* |
|
Gross Domestic Product (Billion USD) | 349 |
Real GDP growth (%) | 2.7 |
GDP per capita (current USD) | 33,622 |
Inflation (%) | 1.9 |
Unemployment rate (%) | 7.8 |
* Estimate
FOREIGN TRADE 2004 JAN-NOV (Unit: billion USD)
TRADE BALANCE | |
Exports | 279.79 |
Imports | 259.4 |
Trade Balance | 20.3 |
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS
Exports by Country | US$ billions | Structure % | Imports by Country | US$ billions | Structure % |
1 – GERMANY | 47.62 | 18.4 | 1 – GERMANY | 55.63 | 19.9 |
2 – NETHERLANDS | 43.15 | 16.6 | 2 – FRANCE | 47.69 | 17.1 |
3 – FRANCE | 32.00 | 12.3 | 3 – NETHERLANDS | 32.60 | 11.7 |
4 – UNITED KINGDOM | 17.76 | 6.8 | 4 -UNITED KINGDOM | 24.28 | 8.7 |
5 – IRELAND | 16.42 | 6.3 | 5 – U.S.A. | 18.34 | 6.6 |
6 – U.S.A. | 14.46 | 5.6 | 6 – ITALY | 14.66 | 5.2 |
7 – ITALY | 8.28 | 3.2 | 7 – SPAIN | 11.01 | 3.9 |
8 – JAPAN | 7.72 | 3.0 | 8 – LUXEMBOURG | 5.51 | 2.0 |
9 – PR CHINA | 7.45 | 2.9 | 9 – INDIA | 4.75 | 1.7 |
10 – SWEDEN | 5.68 | 2.2 | 10 – SWEDEN | 3.80 | 1.4 |
MAJOR EXPORT AND IMPORT PRODUCTS
Export | US$ billions | Structure % | Import | US$ billions | Structure % |
1 – Chemicals& Pharm. prod. | 64.38 | 23.0 | 1 – Chemicals & Pharm. prod. | 56.02 | 21.6 |
2 – Transport Equipment | 38.62 | 13.8 | 2 – Machinery andAppliances | 39.08 | 15.1 |
3 – Machinery andAppliances | 35.52 | 12.7 | 3 – Transport Equipment | 32.59 | 12.6 |
4 – Base Metals | 23.56 | 8.4 | 4 – Mineral Products | 27.29 | 10.5 |
5 – Plastics and Rubber | 21.56 | 7.7 | 5 – Base Metals | 19.92 | 7.7 |
6 – Mineral Products | 17.52 | 6.3 | 6 – Precious Stonesand Metals | 13.96 | 5.4 |
7 – Precious Stonesand Metals | 14.34 | 5.1 | 7 – Plastics and Rubber | 13.83 | 5.3 |
8 – Textile and Textile Articles | 12.51 | 4.5 | 8 – Textile and Textile Articles | 10.17 | 3.9 |
9 – Food industry | 11.68 | 4.2 | 9 – Food industry | 8.93 | 3.4 |
10 – Paper and Applications | 6.47 | 2.3 | 10 – Vegetable products | 6.86 | 2.6 |
MACAO-BELGIUM BILATERAL TRADE (Unit: thousand USD)
2003 | 2004 | |
Exports to Belgium | 8,060.21 | 4,653.30 |
Imports from Belgium | 2,902.12 | 4,415.79 |
Trade Balance | 5,158.09 | 237.51 |
% in Total Macao Exports | 0.31 | 0.17 |
% in Total Macao Imports | 0.11 | 0.13 |
TRADE BY MAIN CATEGORIES & PRODUCTS (Unit: thousand USD)
2003 | 2004 | % | Growth rate (%) | |
Exports | ||||
Garments, knitted or crocheted | 4,747.76 | 2,378.56 | 51.12 | (49.90) |
Garments, not knitted or crocheted | 2,108.73 | 1,174.79 | 25.25 | (44.29) |
Footwear | 1,047.70 | 943.76 | 20.28 | (9.92) |
Other Products | 156.02 | 156.19 | 3.36 | 0.11 |
Total | 8,060.21 | 4,653.30 | 100.00 | (42.27) |
Imports | ||||
Foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco | 415.43 | 511.05 | 11.57 | 23.02 |
Other consumer goods | 1,238.67 | 1,261.54 | 28.57 | 1.85 |
Raw Materials and semi-manufactures | 566.01 | 439.85 | 9.96 | (22.29) |
Fuels and lubricants | 2.30 | 0.82 | 0.02 | (64.35) |
Capital goods | 679.71 | 2,202.53 | 49.88 | 224.04 |
Total | 2,902.12 | 4,415.79 | 100.00 | 52.16 |
SOURCE:
BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE AGENCY, STATISTICS DEPARTMENT (ABH)
NATIONAL BANK OF BELGIUM
Macao Economic Services