Flemish export figures have broken records

2021 was an absolute record year for Flemish exports. Flanders exported goods worth EUR 380.5 billion, a growth of 27.6% compared to 2020 and even 16% higher than the previous record year, 2018. Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon is pleased with these figures. “It shows the Flemish resilience once again.” Nevertheless, Jan Jambon remains cautious: “We still have to take into account the consequences of the crisis in Ukraine.”

The high export figures are led by pharmaceuticals, chemical products, mineral fuels and machinery. Exports of coronavirus vaccines gave the figures a huge boost (EUR 25 billion), although the total Flemish exports without these vaccines would also have risen sharply.

Brexit: no worst-case scenarios

Brexit had undeniable consequences for our exports, but these were greatly tempered by the agreements that Flanders was also able to conclude with the UK. “A no-deal Brexit would have been disastrous for our Flemish companies,” Jan Jambon says. “You can see that exports to the UK are rising less rapidly than average, but we were still able to avoid worst-case scenarios.”

Ukraine

The impact of the war in Ukraine has not yet affected the figures, but that will come. Jan Jambon also adds nuance: the share of the export figures for Russia and Ukraine is 1.2%. On the other hand, imports amount to 2%. However, we wouldn’t leave it at that. The FIT (Flanders Investment & Trade) assists companies that are heavily dependent on imports or exports to Russia or Ukraine, to support them and to look for alternative sales markets.”