Imports at an all-time high

The first eight months of this year saw the highest total import value ever, reports Statistics Faroe Islands.

Total imports amounted to DKK 5.7 billion, which is an increase of 8.4 percent on the first eight months of last year.

Excluding the value of ships and aircraft, which can distort the overall figure, the increase is 11 percent.

Rising oil prices play a major part

The recent spike in oil prices is clearly reflected in the total import value. Despite slightly lower imports in volume terms, we spent about 30 percent more on fuel in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year.

The industrial machinery and equipment group saw the biggest increase, going up by DKK 194 million (39 percent) compared to the first eight months of 2020.

Imports of goods for household consumption have also seen a significant increase, going up by 8 percent.

Export value matches 2019 all-time high

Total exports in the first eight months of this year amounted to DKK 5.7 billion, compared to DKK 5.5 billion in the same period last year.

This matches the all-time year-to-date high in 2019.

The first months of this year saw significantly lower exports than in 2019, but exports picked up pace in in the past few months bringing the total up to the 2019 levels.

Read the Faroese version of this article here and here.

More Faroese News in English.