ISTANBUL 

Last year, the European Union's COVID-19-related product exports and imports were up by 6% and 10%, respectively, year-on-year.

"To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, countries around the world took a variety of restrictive measures, which negatively affected international trade in goods, with a few noteworthy exceptions," Eurostat said on Wednesday.

The bloc's statistical authority said the COVID-19 related goods are sterilization products, including disinfectants, as well as medical vehicles and furniture, protective garments, diagnostic testing equipment, medical devices, oxygen equipment, and medical consumables.

"Growth rates for trade of COVID-19 related products were higher in the first half of the year than in the second," it added.

Among these products, protective garments and oxygen equipment imports posted the highest rises with 40% and 39%, respectively, on annual basis.

On the export side, the highest increases were recorded by sterilization products (16%) and diagnostic testing equipment (15%).