EUROPEAN UNION (EU) exports to Britain rose in June after a volatile start to the country’s first year outside the single market, while the bloc’s exports to the rest of the world dropped slightly in the same month.

The EU statistics office Eurostat said Friday seasonally adjusted exports to Britain increased by 4.7 percent in June on the month, whereas imports from the United Kingdom were “nearly unchanged” and the bloc’s exports to other countries dropped 0.6 percent.

The month-on-month rise in exports to Britain followed a plunge, surge and second drop earlier this year, which were also recorded in imports, as firms adapted to new trade requirements after Brexit. The EU’s trade with the rest of the world has remained largely stable in the first half of the year.

Seasonally-adjusted exports to Britain remained below the levels of the last months of 2020 in June but were higher than June 2020 when COVID restrictions were stricter, Eurostat figures showed.

On the year, unadjusted figures showed that the 27-country bloc recorded a 22.3 percent increase in exports in June for a total volume of 188.3 billion euros (US$221.1 billion), and a 29.6 percent rise in imports resulting in a trade surplus of 14.8 billion euros, down from 20 billion euros in June 2020.

The smaller eurozone, which comprises 19 of the 27 EU members, recorded a nearly 22 percent increase of exports and a rise of almost 17 percent in imports on the month which resulted in a 18.1 billion euros surplus in June from 7.5 billion euros in May. In June 2020, the eurozone surplus was 20 billion euros.

In the first half of the year, EU imports of goods from Britain were nearly 20 percent below their levels in the same period of 2020 and in June and May were also lower than volumes recorded at the end of last year, Eurostat data showed.(SD-Agencies)