Last week, figures from the automotive industry showed a decline in UK car sales. They also shone a light on the UK's third biggest export - eight out of 10 cars built in the UK are exported.

HM Revenue and Customs releases monthly figures for UK trade. According to the latest figures from October 2011, the UK's biggest export in the year to date was nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances (including parts thereof). Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation,bituminous substances and mineral waxes followed in second place, although incidentally it was also the most highly imported product in 2011 rising by 46% on the year.

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof ranked as both third highest import and export. In the year to date (October 2011) the UK exported £23bn worth and spent £32bn on importing these items.

The United States received the most British export goods last year, followed by Germany and France. The top trade partner for imports was Germany, followed by the United States and China. The UK exported £31.7bn worth of products to the US.

Check out the tables below for top trading partners or download the spreadsheet for the full data on the UK's top exported and imported goods year on year.

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Data summary

Top UK export countries Click heading to sort table. Download this data Rank Country Year to date 2011 (£m) Year to date 2010 (£m) % Change 1 UNITED STATES 31,712 30,894 2.7 2 GERMANY 27,539 23,502 17.2 3 FRANCE 18,905 16,542 14.3 4 NETHERLANDS 18,823 17,189 9.5 5 IRISH REPUBLIC 14,063 13,307 5.7 6 BELGIUM 12,949 10,835 19.5 7 ITALY 8,287 7,193 15.2 8 SPAIN 7,946 8,065 -1.5 9 CHINA 7,055 5,839 20.8 10 SWEDEN 5,103 4,504 13.3 11 INDIA 4,597 3,172 44.9 12 SWITZERLAND 4,400 4,063 8.3 13 CANADA 4,126 3,445 19.8 14 HONG KONG 4,120 3,464 18.9 15 RUSSIA 3,853 2,692 43.1 16 UAE 3,844 3,101 23.9 17 JAPAN 3,667 3,443 6.5 18 POLAND 3,655 2,999 21.9 19 AUSTRALIA 3,380 2,609 29.5 20 TURKEY 3,115 2,452 27.1 21 SINGAPORE 2,929 2,704 8.3 22 SOUTH AFRICA 2,836 2,201 28.9 23 NORWAY 2,732 2,390 14.3 24 SAUDI ARABIA 2,554 2,440 4.7 25 DENMARK 2,477 2,242 10.5

Top UK import countries Click heading to sort table. Download this data Rank Country Year to date 2011 (£m) Year to date 2010 (£m) % Change 1 GERMANY 41,107 37,812 8.7 2 UNITED STATES 25,076 25,574 -2 3 CHINA 24,828 23,172 7.1 4 NETHERLANDS 23,019 21,390 7.6 5 NORWAY 20,014 15,359 30.3 6 FRANCE 19,138 18,133 5.5 7 BELGIUM 15,729 14,054 11.9 8 ITALY 11,629 11,720 -0.8 9 IRISH REPUBLIC 10,436 10,421 0.1 10 SPAIN 9,094 8,350 8.9 11 JAPAN 6,998 6,220 12.5 12 SWITZERLAND 6,525 7,018 -7 13 RUSSIA 6,326 4,290 47.5 14 SWEDEN 6,289 5,282 19.1 15 HONG KONG 6,119 6,141 -0.4 16 POLAND 5,843 4,957 17.9 17 CANADA 5,208 5,483 -5 18 DENMARK 5,017 3,306 51.8 19 INDIA 4,954 4,560 8.7 20 TURKEY 4,498 4,141 8.6 21 QATAR 4,185 1,756 138.3 22 CZECH REPUBLIC 3,510 3,279 7.1 23 SINGAPORE 3,194 3,205 -0.3 24 TAIWAN 2,831 2,387 18.6 25 HUNGARY 2,516 2,593 -2.9

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