France’s trade deficit in goods soared to an all-time high of 164 billion euros in 2022, weighed down by rising energy prices, the foreign trade ministry announced on Tuesday.
The deficit in goods nearly doubled from the previous record of 84.7 billion euros reached in 2021, mainly due to a more than doubling in imported energy prices, the ministry report said during a press conference.
On the other hand, services generated a record surplus.
“On est malheureusement dans la continuité des années précédentes”, I commented on the Minister of Foreign Commerce Olivier Becht in the cours of a press conference, acknowledging “an extremely important deficit” sur les goods, tout en se réjouissant de l’excédent record Services.
In deficit for 20 years
France has been in chronic deficit for twenty years, the last French trade surplus in goods dating back to 2002 according to INSEE figures.
The minister, however, highlighted the cost of the energy bill in a context of price increases linked to the war in Ukraine and riots at the French nuclear park that forced France to import electricity.
These imported energy prices multiplied by 2.1 compared to the previous year.
“Unsurprisingly, this affects our asset balance in the same way,” Olivier Becht said.
In gas alone, import prices rose 248% to €59bn, helping to more than double last year’s energy bill to €115bn.
50 billion surplus in services
In addition to the very high prices of raw materials, including energy but also metals and agri-food, the Government attributes the depreciation of the euro against the dollar last year and the tensions in the supply chains to justify the bad figures for 2022 .
Among the dynamic sectors are the automobile, whose exports have almost returned to their 2019 level, aeronautics and space, perfumes and cosmetics, and agricultural products.
As for services, France recorded a record surplus of 50 billion euros compared to 36 billion the previous year, benefiting from a clear recovery in tourism and very good performance in maritime transport.
The income balance (including financial services) was also in surplus (at 31,000 million euros).
The balance of goods, services and income shows a current account deficit after a surplus last year.
Source: BFM TV
