The turnover of enterprises in Belgium, excluding agricultural and financial sectors, amounted to 362.5 billion euros in the second quarter 2021, i.e. a 36% increase compared to the same period the year before.

This enormous increase is of course due to the fact that in the second quarter of 2021 most businesses were fully open while in the second quarter of 2020 a strict lockdown was still (partially) in place: non-essential B2B businesses were closed until the beginning of May, B2C businesses remained closed until the middle of May, the ‘horeca’ sector was only allowed to reopen at the beginning of June and events and cultural performances were prohibited. Due to the significantly changed context, a comparison with the situation before the Covid-19 crisis is therefore more appropriate. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, the increase in turnover is 9.4%. Behind this increase, however, are very different evolutions.

In the second quarter of 2021 we see that in the important economic sectors, the largest increase in turnover, compared to the same period in 2019, is registered in trade (+19%). Half of this increase is explained by increased trade in consumer goods, machinery and intermediate products, the other half by the export of vaccines on the one hand and a restructuring of a multinational that was still operating in NACE section D in 2019 on the other. In other main economic sectors such as construction, professional, scientific and technical activities and the ICT sector, the increase is between 8 and 14%. The industry is also doing well, including through the production of vaccines, with a 4% increase in turnover. The largest decreases in turnover are recorded in those sectors still affected by restrictive measures in the second quarter of 2021. These are the sector ‘Arts, entertainment and recreation’ (-35%), the sector ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ (-32%), the sector ‘Other service activities’ (-12%), which includes contact professions, and the sector ‘Administrative and support service activities’ (-8%), a sector which includes travel agencies, tour operators and reservation services.

The results for the second quarter 2021 are provisional. These results can be revised when additional data becomes available.