Scotland’s export estimates for 2020 and 2021 released

The Chief Statistician has released Export Statistics Scotland 2021, which provides estimates of the value of Scotland’s exports (excluding oil and gas), by industry and destination for 2019 to 2021.

Despite a small (6.2%) increase in 2021 to £31.3 billion, the estimated value of Scotland's international exports remained lower than before the pandemic (11.5% lower than in 2019).

In contrast, the value of Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK was 4.0% higher in 2021 compared to 2019. This was driven by strong growth in the value of Scotland’s ‘utilities’ exports to the rest of the UK, which increased by 44.9% (£1.6 billion) between 2019 and 2021. Exports to the rest of the UK valued an estimated £48.6 billion and accounted for the majority (61%) of the value of Scotland’s total exports in 2021.

Declines in the value of international exports for several sectors including ‘financial and insurance activities’ and ‘transportation and storage’ contributed to the drop in international export value between 2019 and 2021.

‘Food, beverages, and tobacco’ remains the largest industry sector for Scotland’s international exports, accounting for a fifth (20%) of Scotland’s international export value in 2021. The USA remained Scotland’s largest international export destination, accounting for 16% of Scotland’s international export value in 2021

Background

The full statistical publication is available and presents estimates of the value of international and rest of the UK exports for all sectors of the Scottish economy from 2019 to 2021. All figures are in current prices and are therefore unadjusted for inflation. They measure the value of trade, not the volume of trade.

The figures exclude exports of oil and gas extracted from the UK Continental shelf. However, exports of services provided to the offshore oil and gas industry are included in the exports to the rest of the UK figures.