Xifres de comerç exterior d'Islàndia

Foreign Trade in Figures

Iceland has always been open to international trade, which represents 78% of GDP (World Bank). Most of the restrictions on foreign exchange transactions and the cross-border movement of domestic and foreign currency for both businesses and households were lifted in order to stimulate foreign trade. The main barriers to trade and market entries are the increasing adoption of EU product standards and regulations, high tariffs on most agricultural products from outside the EU, restrictions on the import of some products, such as raw meat; due to phytosanitary regulations and difficulty in obtaining financing for joint ventures. Traditional sectors like fishing stimulate the dynamism of the country's exports, as more than 40% of the national exports are fishing products. Iceland also exports aluminium and ferrosilicon (around one-third of total exports), as well as dairy products. The main imports are artificial corundum, motor cars, and petroleum oils other than crude.

According to data by Statistics Iceland, in 2022 the country’s main customers were the Netherlands (37.5% of total exports), the United Kingdom (9%), the U.S. (7.8%), Germany (6.5%), and France (6.4%); whereas imported goods came chiefly from Norway (12.3%), China (9.4%), Germany (8.3%), the Netherlands (7.1%), the U.S. (6.3%), and Denmark (6%). Overall, the European Union absorbs more than two-thirds of Icelandic exports and it supplies around half of the total imports (the country is a member of the European Economic Area - EEA).
 
In 2021, the country exported USD 5.9 billion worth of merchandise (+30.5% y-o-y), importing USD 7.8 billion (+37.1%). However, Iceland is a net service exporter (USD 3.7 billion in export vs. USD 2.9 billion in imports in 2021 – data by WTO). As the export of services did not return closer to the pre-pandemic level, the overall external balance for goods and services was negative by 1.8% of GDP in 2021 (data World Bank).
According to the latest figures by Statistics Iceland for the year 2022, the total value of exported goods was ISK 1,002 billion (up by 31.5% y-o-y), with manufacturing products contributing 57% of the total exports (+43,9%) and marine products for 35% (+18%). In the same year, the total value of imports reached ISK 1,325 billion (+33.3%, with fuels, industrial supplies and capital goods registering the highest increases).