Large increase in sales of goods abroad by Danish manufacturing industries

Globalisation means that Danish enterprises are increasingly organising their production across borders. Today, processing abroad, traditional trading with goods across borders, as well as purchases and sales of goods not crossing Danish borders (merchanting) have become closely linked. This trend has been particularly strong over the past decade.

This analysis describes how enterprises organise production internationally, with special focus on Danish manufacturing industries’ production and sales abroad. The analysis is based on new figures for balance of payments and international trade in goods and ser­vices, which were published on 10 October 2016.

Main conclusions of the analysis:

• In 2005, Danish manufacturers sold goods abroad which were not produced in Denmark for about DKK 8 bn. In 2015, this figure had risen to more than DKK 120 bn.
• Sales of merchanting goods by manufacturing industries, i.e. goods purchased and sold outside of Danish borders, amounted to almost DKK 70 bn. in 2015. The merchanting goods were primarily sold in other EU countries.
• Purchases abroad by Danish enterprises of foreign goods for processing abroad have in­creased over ten years from virtually zero to almost DKK 16 bn. In the same period, pur­chases by Danish enterprises of processing services abroad have risen from almost DKK
  1 bn. to almost DKK 9 bn.