Serbia Catches Up to Croatia on the List of Most Significant Trade Partners of BiH

Croatia maintained its first place in 2017 among the countries on the list of foreign trade partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a significant increase in both imports and exports compared to 2016, but Serbia closely follows with evident ambitions to take the lead, according to data released on Monday by the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH.

In the past year, BiH imported goods from Croatia worth 2.96 billion convertible marks (KM), or 1.514 billion euros, while exports from BiH to Croatia reached a value of 1.326 billion KM or 678 million euros.

>>> Croatia Remains the Largest Trade Partner of BiH

Among the goods that Croatia exports to BiH, petroleum oils and electricity dominate, followed by sugar, chocolate, and beer.

BiH primarily exports electricity to Croatia, as well as raw aluminum, wood, seats, and fabrics.

>>> Exports Create 57.4 Billion Kuna in Added Value, Accounting for 20.5 Percent of the Total Economy

Compared to 2016, imports from Croatia to BiH increased by 16.18 percent, while exports from BiH to Croatia surged by 30.38 percent.

Statistics show that the coverage of Bosnian-Herzegovinian imports from Croatia by exports of goods in 2017 was 44.7 percent.

The second largest foreign trade partner of BiH is Serbia, with import and export values slightly lower than those of Croatia, followed by Germany, Italy, and Slovenia.

Serbian exports to BiH in 2017 were valued at 2.5 billion KM, or 1.3 billion euros, while BiH exported goods to Serbia worth 1.1 billion KM or 591 million euros.

The EU is the Most Significant Aggregate Trade Partner of BiH

The member states of the European Union together represent the most significant aggregate trade partner for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as this country markets over 70 percent of its exports worth around 5.8 billion euros to the Union, while simultaneously realizing 67.4 percent of its imports from the EU, valued at around 9.4 billion euros in the past year.

The foreign trade deficit of BiH in 2017 was at the level of 3.6 billion euros, which simultaneously means 61 percent coverage of imports by exports.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, Mirko Šarović, stated that it is extremely important that Croatia and Serbia have been intensively competing for the position of the most significant trade partner of BiH in recent years.

>>> Croatia Remains the Largest Trade Partner of BiH, Dominating Oil Exports

“The numbers show how significant these two neighbors are to us,” said Šarović to reporters, adding that he sees “huge potential” in this regard.

He emphasized that BiH is approaching the amount of 15 billion euros in foreign trade exchange for the first time, adding that this value is expected to be reached during 2018.

Šarović places special importance on strengthening trade with EU member states, seeing a significant opportunity in aluminum exports and in capturing the chicken meat market, for which producers from BiH have recently qualified.

“I am confident that in three years we can reach a coverage rate of 70 percent of imports by exports,” said Šarović to reporters, noting that this would be a “fantastic achievement” in Bosnian-Herzegovinian conditions, thus positioning the economy of BiH among stable ones.

However, Šarović warned that everything will depend on the political and overall stability in the country, as this significantly affects the state of the economy.