Bulgaria’s exports decreased in the first half of the year, imports increased – Agro Plovdiv – 2024-09-11 11:03:36

With the biggest decrease in exports are “Fats, oils and waxes of animal and vegetable origin„

Today, the National Statistics Office publishes 6-month data on imports and exports from and to Bulgaria. The data points to declines

Exports and imports of Bulgaria to and from the EU

During the period January – June 2024 the export of goods from Bulgaria to the EU decreased by 5.0% compared to the same period of 2023 and was worth BGN 26,929.5 million. Bulgaria’s main trading partners are Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece and France, which form 62.9% of exports to EU member states.

In the case of exports, distributed according to the Standard Foreign Trade Classification, the greatest growth was noted in the “Mineral fuels, oils and similar products” sector (43.4%). The biggest decrease was observed in the sector “Fats, oils and waxes of animal and vegetable origin” (20.6%).

The import of goods into Bulgaria from the EU in the period January – June 2024 decreased by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2023 and was worth BGN 27,678.2 million (at CIF prices). The value volume of goods imported from Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands is the largest.

Exports and imports to and from third countries

The export of goods from Bulgaria to third countries decreased by 1.9% compared to the same period of 2023 and amounted to BGN 17,702.0 million, while the import grew by 8.3% and was worth BGN 24,045.0 million.

The greatest growth at the export of goods was noted in the “Chemical substances and products” sector (11.8%). The biggest decline was observed in the sector “Fats, oils and waxes of animal and vegetable origin” (35.3%). The largest increase in imports was reported in the “Fats, oils and waxes of animal and vegetable origin” sector (34.7%). The biggest drop was observed in “Machines, equipment and vehicles” (10.7%).

Bulgaria’s main trading partners are Turkey, the United States of America, Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, China, the United Kingdom and Egypt, which form 51.9% of exports to third countries.

The import of goods in Bulgaria from third countries during the period January – July 2024 increased by 8.3% compared to the same period of 2023 and was worth BGN 24,045.0 million (at CIF prices). The largest value volume of goods imported from Turkey, China, Egypt and Ukraine.

General trade

The deficit in Bulgaria’s trade balance in our general trade (EU and third countries) has increased from -4496.1 million BGN in January-June 2023 to -5936.3 million BGN for the same period this year.

Especially for the group of goods “Fats, oils and waxes of animal and vegetable origin”, FOB exports to Bulgaria decreased by 27% – from BGN 899.4 million in the first six months of 2023 to BGN 651.8 million for the same period this year year. CIF imports grow from BGN 413.8 million in 2023 to BGN 514.6 million, which represents a growth of 24.4%.

The total FOB export of food and animals was 20.7% lower – from BGN 5,490.9 million to BGN 4,353.9 million. CIF imports increased from BGN 4,014.4 million to BGN 4,124.1 million, which equals to 2.7%.