“Exports have had an incredibly hard time in 2018. It is therefore extremely good news that things are finally moving in the right direction. We hope that the positive trend will continue so the Danish economy’s growth can become more balanced. In 2018, it has been domestic consumers who have born the brunt,” says Senior Analyst Allan Sørensen, the Confederation of Danish Industry.

Over the first ten months of the year, goods exports increased by just 0.4% compared to the same period last year.

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“We have never before had a year without growth in exports when the employment rate has increased. If we are to maintain the upswing and the increasing employment rate, it is essential that we get exports going,” says Allan Sørensen.

“The weak development in exports is due to less sales of food products, raw materials and machinery. The increasing rate of the krone in recent years has also weakened companies’ chances of translating the global upswing into greater export revenue,” says Allan Sørensen.

The global economy has been thriving in 2018, but it has been difficult to translate this into increased exports.

“We hope that exports will behave more ‘normally’ in 2019, but competition in export markets will be tough in coming years. Global economic growth has peaked, which means that companies must fight harder to win orders,” says Allan Sørensen.

Exports are one of the most important key indicators for the Danish economy. Denmark exports nearly DKK 1.2 trillion worth of goods and services per year, making exports the biggest source of income in the Danish economy. More than 800,000 Danish jobs depend on exports.

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