At a time where much of the developed world is busy conjecturing what might 2020 bring, here’s a positive piece of news for Belgium!
Financial experts and researchers in Europe are of the view that one of Western Europe’s big centres of economic activity will be in the top-10 exporting countries in 2020. A renowned Western-European country that’s famously known to produce and export diamonds- among the most prized articles in the entire world- it appears, 2020 seems a year that could see a major boost for the often export-driven economy.
If there are countries that thrive on their power to export, then it appears that Belgium is not far behind. Just what underlines that fact? Each year, the famous land of the waffles earns a total of €18 billion in its export earnings.
And next year will see Belgium take its deserving place in the top 10 exporting countries in 2020, as per updates in the latest report published by World Trade.
But all of that said, what beside diamonds contributes to the growing clout of export items from the noted Western European hub? It’s common knowledge that besides finished diamonds, chemicals, machinery and equipment, metal products and food stuffs make for the leading items in a vibrant export basket from Belgium.
All of these irreplaceable articles in Belgium’s expansive export portfolio seem to be heading toward a bright future as one of Europe’s most widely visited nations is all set to enter the top 10 exporting countries in 2020, which isn’t in the too distant future.
The Brussels Times, elaborating in greater detail about the news happened to highlight some key insights in regards to this piece of development. It shared:
In Belgium, growth in the volume of exports will also be weak this year (+1.3%) given the German and European situations, the company predicted. However, the country is benefiting slightly from the trade disputes, offsetting the decline in exports to Italy, the United Kingdom, China, Turkey, Russia and Poland.
For a country that doesn’t have to venture out that far in expanding its scope of export business, its big export partners being all key European nations, majorly those who happen to be its neighbors- France, Germany, The Netherlands, it appears that Belgium’s export activity is certain to reach far-reaching corners in the next few months in the immediate future.
Those to the US have indeed increased sharply (+23% since the beginning of 2019 compared to 10% for the same period in 2018). In total, Belgian exports are expected to grow by €2 billion in 2019.
But it appears that quoting the analogy, one man’s loss is another’s gain, it could be said that Belgium is poised to gain from Brexit and hence, prop up its dynamic export scenario.
Preparations for a possible hard Brexit also helped Belgian companies to export more during the summer (+€0.3 billion) following a drop of -€0.6 billion in the first quarter.
In fact, the end of 2019 is poised to bring positive news for the country. In all, the end of 2019 is set to contribute no fewer than €2 billion where the total exports of Belgium stand.
To sum it up, Belgium’s economy gained healthily from export business and activity in 2018 as the Kingdom of Belgium shipped US$466.7 billion worth of goods around the globe as of the last year.