Official figures show that exports rose by 2% last compared with 2005, but imports grew by 5%. Total exports were €88.7 billion, the best figure since 2002, while imports were €60.4 billion.
A breakdown showed that exports in two of the biggest categories - chemicals and pharmaceuticals - rose slightly in 2006. Beverage exports jumped by 28% to €1.3 billion while exports of metal ores were up 67%.
The US remained the biggest export market, up 5% to €16.2 billion, but Belgium overtook Britain into second place with €14.2 billion.
Imports from Britain were 5% higher at €17 billion, while imports from China jumped 18% to €4.4 billion. Just €876m worth of goods were exported to China, however. A 13% rise in computer equipment imports was the main factor in the imports rise.
Preliminary figures for January showed exports of €7.4 billion, up from €7.25 billion in December, while imports were up from €5.3 billion to 45.6 billion.
