Highlights
In order to reflect the changes in the pattern of products exported and imported, a new set of weights has been worked out with year 2018 as base period, the previous one being 2013. The following indices have been calculated based on the new set of weights:
Export Price Index (EPI)
1. EPI rose by 2.4% from 133.3 in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 136.5 in the first quarter of 2022, mainly due to increases in the prices of “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+3.4%), “Chemicals and related products, n.e.s" (+7.3%) and “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+3.1%).
2. Compared to price levels in the corresponding quarter of 2021, the index increased by 9.7% which was mainly due to increases in the prices of “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+11.8%) and “Food and live animals" (+6.9%).
Import Price Index (IPI)
3. IPI increased by 14.4% from 140.9 in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 161.2 in the first quarter of 2022. That was mainly the effect of increases in the prices of “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (+29.6%), “Food and live animals" (+7.8%) and “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+4.5%).
4. Compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021, the index rose by 40.1%, mainly as a result of increases in the prices of “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (+77.7%), “Food and live animals" (+22.3%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+37.8%) and “Machinery and transport equipment" (+7.8%).
Terms of Trade Index
5. The terms of trade index, i.e., the ratio of EPI to IPI, decreased by 9.9 points (-10.5%) from 94.6 in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 84.7 in the first quarter of 2022. Compared to 108.1 in the corresponding quarter of 2021, the terms of trade decreased by 23.4 points (-21.6%).
24 June 2022
