prijava
SARAJEVO, July 25 (FENA) - The total volume of foreign trade of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of 2023 was 22 billion, 770 million and 509 thousand KM, which is 1.96 percent less compared to the first half of 2022, announced at the press conference the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, where the basic indicators of foreign trade with the world for the first six months of this year were presented, with special reference to the exchange of our country with the most important trading partners.
In the period from January to June 2023, eight billion, 908 million and 388 thousand KM were exported from BiH, which is 4.03 percent less than in the same period last year, while 13 billion, 862 million and 121 thousand KM were imported into BiH, or 0.58 less compared to the comparative period.
The imports-exports coverage in the first half of the year is 64.3 percent and is lower by 3.47 percent.
The President of the BiH Chamber of Foreign Trade, Zdravko Marinković, stated that the decrease in total exports is a consequence of the decrease in individual EU markets due to the slowdown in EU economic activity, and global market balances caused by the crisis in Ukraine.
"The structure of imports is dominated by products of the metal, agro-industrial and chemical sectors, as well as the import of oil and oil derivatives. The decrease in imports indicates a decrease in domestic demand, a decrease in demand for energy products due to the stabilization of the market, but also a decrease in the import of raw materials and finishing materials," said Marinković.
The most important foreign trade partner of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of 2023 was the European Union (73.1 percent of exports and 66.4 percent of imports), followed by CEFTA countries (with 17.6 percent of exports and 15.4 percent of imports), while 9.3 percent of exports and 18.3 percent of imports refer to all other countries and third markets.
Individually, with a realized trade volume exceeding one billion KM are Croatia (16 percent of exports and 18.08 percent of imports), Serbia (12 percent of exports and 13.84 percent of imports), Germany (15.86 percent of exports, 8.71 percent of imports), Slovenia (8.79 percent of exports and 8.37 percent of imports), Italy (8.56 percent of exports and 7.74 percent of imports).
The most important export market for businesses in BiH is still Germany with total exports of one billion, 413 million and 303 thousand KM, and this represents an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the first half of 2022.
"Despite the entry of the German economy into recession in the first quarter of 2023, exports grew due to pre-agreed orders and second-term cooperation," said Marinković.
Among the other leading export markets, in the last few years BiH has had positive trends with Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, and the same dynamics can be expected until the end of the year.
The largest import partner of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Croatia, where a significant percentage is represented by oil and oil derivatives.
(FENA) S. R.
