Serbia’s total foreign trade in goods for the period from January to August 2024 reached €44.85 billion, marking a 3.5% increase compared to the same timeframe last year, as reported by the Republic Statistical Office (RZS).
During this period, exports amounted to €19.39 billion, reflecting a 1.5% rise, while imports totaled €25.45 billion, an increase of 5.1%. This resulted in a trade deficit of €6.06 billion, up 18.3% from the previous year.
The coverage of imports by exports stood at 76.2%, which is lower than the 78.8% coverage noted in the same period last year. The bulk of foreign trade occurred with countries that have free trade agreements with Serbia.
European Union member states accounted for 58.9% of the total trade. Meanwhile, CEFTA countries were the second-largest trading partners, resulting in a trade surplus of over $2 billion, primarily driven by exports of grains, beverages, oil, motor vehicles, and electricity.
Specifically, Serbia exported €2.9 billion to CEFTA countries while importing just over €1 billion, leading to a surplus of €1.9 billion and an impressive import coverage by exports of 287.3%.
Individually, the largest trade surpluses were recorded with neighboring countries: Montenegro (exporting electricity and pharmaceuticals while importing electricity and dried meat), Bosnia and Herzegovina (exporting gas oils and gasoline, while importing electricity and lignite), and North Macedonia (exporting electricity and electrical conductors while importing electricity and catalysts).
Surpluses were also noted with Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Croatia.
In contrast, the most significant trade deficit was with China, driven by imports of mobile phones and laptops. Deficits were also observed with Turkey, Italy, Germany, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, France, Austria, Switzerland, South Korea, Denmark, Greece and the USA.
In August 2024, Serbia exported goods worth €2.22 billion, a slight increase of 0.4% compared to the same month last year. Imports for the same period reached €3.12 billion, an increase of 13.1%.
On a month-to-month basis, the seasonally adjusted index for August compared to July 2024 showed a 1.6% decline in exports and a 2.5% increase in imports, according to the RZS.
