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With the exception of oil and gas, all other major imports saw significant declines in value terms in 2022, reflecting falling prices, mainly for fuels (again, largely due to falling petrol and diesel prices). Imports of mineral fuels as intermediate inputs to gas and petroleum also fell, although this was partially offset by an increase in petrochemical exports. The decline in non-fuel mineral fuels and crude oil was more pronounced than for other metals or metal products, reflecting the impact of low global demand for steel, which led to sharply reduced global prices for raw materials and increased competition from Chinese producers.
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The UK’s top export markets in 2020 were China (6th) and the US (20th). The UK’s market share in China was particularly low in March-June 2020, falling below 1% and being overtaken by Gulf countries and Russia. Despite this, China remains an important market for UK exports and the country saw strong recoveries in the latter part of the year as production networks recovered from disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In contrast, UK exports of machinery and mechanical appliances to the US were much more stable over this period, with a comparatively small fall in September 2020. The decline in US exports to the UK can probably be attributed to travel restrictions that prevented many potential buyers from entering the US market, allowing China and other emerging economies to take advantage of this.