UK goods exports to the European Union fell 40.7% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), while imports tumbled 28.8%.
The figures show the biggest drop since records began in 1997, and are the first since new trading rules between the UK and the EU came into force.
The ONS said temporary factors were likely to be behind much of the falls.
Meanwhile, new data showed the UK economy shrank by 2.9% in January amid the third lockdown.
The economy is 9% smaller than it was before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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