Negative export flow continues even in August, trade deficit deepens by 3.1 per cent

The outstanding imbalance between export and import in Kosovo is continuing the growth trajectory. In almost all monthly reports, exports are in negative flow compared to the same months of the previous year. On the other hand, import continues to grow. The consequence is the continued deepening of Kosovo's trade deficit.

The latest foreign goods trade data in Kosovo, published by the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK), points to an increase in the trade deficit by 3.1 percent. This alarming trend characterised the country nearly throughout the months of this year.

During August, exports amounted to 57.3m euros, until the import was 523.1m euros.

Compared to the same period in 2022, The ASK has announced that export has a 20.7 per cent decline. Import, on the other hand, has a slight decline of 0.7 percent.

“Export of goods in August 2023 was worth 67.3m euros, while import 523.1 million euros, which is a drop of (-20.7%) for export, and (-0.7%) for import, compared to the same period in 2022.” puts it in the ASS report.

During the months of 2023, Kosovo's foreign trade reports, published by the AKS, reported a significant increase in the trade deficit compared to the same period last year.

In July, the trade deficit marked a 4.4 percent increase, worth 444.7m euros. The change was reported to 2022, when the trade deficit was 426.1m euros.

The highest commercial deficit growth was registered in May 2023, with an increase of 20.5 percent compared to May 2022. This shows an obvious deterioration of trade balance.

The deficit value in May 2023 reached 443.3m euros, compared to the 367.8m euros in 2022.

The month of March 2023 also marked an apparent increase in the commercial deficit by 5.3 percent, with its worth being 426.8m euros compared with 405.3m euros in 2022.

The significant increase in the trade deficit was also in January, reaching 6.4 percent, where the value affected the figure of 291.5m euros compared to 273.8m euros in 2022.

In April and June 2023, there has been a minimal change with a decrease in the trade deficit, for -0.2 and 4.6 percent respectively.