Exports Statistics Scotland 2023

Key Findings

Valued at £37.7 billion in 2023, Scotland’s international exports are estimated to have fallen by 4% in real terms since 2018, a comparison chosen for its relative stability prior to economic impacts like pandemic lockdowns, EU withdrawal and the invasion of Ukraine.

Declines in international export value were driven by manufacturing sectors, which fell by 15% in real terms since 2018. In particular exports of ‘coke, refined petroleum & chemicals’ and ‘transport equipment’. In contrast, International service sector exports have increased by 8%.

‘Food & drink’, worth £7.5 billion, remained Scotland’s largest international export sector, accounting for a fifth of Scotland’s international exports, despite a 5% real terms decrease since 2018.

Scotland’s exports to non-EU destinations, valued at £21 billion, were broadly similar to 2018 levels when accounting for inflation. However, exports to EU destinations, which account for just under half (45%) of international exports. were estimated to have fallen by 11% in real terms, to £17 billion.

After the EU single market, the USA remained Scotland’s second largest international export destination. The USA accounted for 17% of international exports​.

Manufacturing sectors played a larger role in international exports, where they accounted for 49% of export value, compared to 41% of exports from service sector companies. In contrast, services made up a larger proportion of exports to the rest of the UK (54%, compared to 23% for manufacturing sector exports).

Exports to the rest of the UK fell by 10% between 2018 and 2023, with ‘financial & insurance’ exports, the largest sector for exports to UK regions, driving this decline with a 30% real terms decrease since 2018.  

Together with exports to the rest of the UK, worth £55.4 billion, the total value of all exports was estimated at £93.1 billion in 2023.