Sweden - International trade



Sweden has had a traditionally strong export sector and has recorded large surpluses on its trade since the mid-1990s (more than US$7 billion in 1999). The trade surplus is likely to increase in 2001, driven by an expected fall in oil prices. Principal exported commodities include machinery and equipment (35 percent), motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, and chemicals. Leading export markets in 1998 were the European Union (57 percent), Germany (11 percent), the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States (9 percent each), Denmark (6 percent), and Finland (5 percent). Imported commodities include machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel, foodstuffs, and clothing. Chief import partners in 1998 were the European Union (68 percent), Germany (19 percent), the United Kingdom (10 percent), Norway (10 percent), and Denmark, France, and the United States (6 percent each). Swedish export brands such as Ericsson, Volvo, Saab, Electrolux, IKEA, and Oriflame, are among the best known in the world.

In 2000, the increase in the imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related products amounted to SKr18.7 billion, but this was easily offset by the growth in the value of Swedish exports. Electrical machinery was one of the rapidly growing export categories, and revenue increased also in wood pulp, iron and steel, while in manufacturing they remained flat. In 2000, the U.S. economy alone absorbed SKr47.7 billion of Swedish exports, or an increase of 20.6 percent, and Swedish deliveries to Japan also rose sharply. The price of Swedish imports remained relatively stable, although high oil prices produced a

Trade (expressed in billions of US$): Sweden
exports Imports
1975 17.383 17.450
1980 30.906 33.438
1985 30.461 28.547
1990 57.540 54.264
1995 79.801 64.645
1998 84.730 68.413
SOURCE: International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1999.

sharp increase in the value of Norwegian imports (Norway is the major exporter of oil and natural gas for many countries in the region).

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