Bosnia's total trade volume in 2019 stood at 31.75 billion marks (€16.2 billion), including exports which totalled 11.87 billion marks (€6 billion) and imports worth 19.87 billion marks (€10.2 billion), the country's Foreign Trade Chamber said on Tuesday.

The chamber said that the figures translate into a 3 percent year-on-year drop in exports, and a 1.5 percent increase in imports. The total import-export deficit in 2019 amounted to 8 billion marks (€4.2 billion), up by more than 9 percent or by 672 million marks (€344 million) from 2018.

The rise in the value of imports, which inched up by some 280 million marks (€143 million), was attributed to increased local spending and also the volatile prices of oil and oil-based fuels.

In terms of trade partners, the chamber said that Bosnia had achieved a good export-import coverage with Germany and Italy, and even posted a positive trade balance with Austria.

Trade with the EU accounted for 72.1 percent of Bosnia’s exports and 68 percent of its imports. Exports to EU markets was worth 8.5 billion marks (€4.3 billion), while imports from the EU totalled 13.5 billion marks (€6.9 billion).

Bosnia’s largest trade partner in the EU in 2019 was neighbouring Croatia, with the total volume of trade at 4.97 billion marks (€2.5 billion). Exports to Croatia were at 1.45 billion (€740 million) and imports were worth 3.51 billion (€1.8 billion). Bosnia’s export-import coverage with Croatia fell to 41 percent, or 4 percentage points down from 2018.

The chamber said that Bosnia had achieved a good export-import coverage with Germany and Italy, and even posted a positive trade balance with Austria.

After the EU, CEFTA is Bosnia’s second most important trading bloc, accounting for 17.4 percent of Bosnia’s exports and 15.4 percent of its imports. Its most important foreign trade partner from the CEFTA region in 2019 was Serbia.

(€1 = 1.95 marks)