Bulgaria Registers Negative Balance of Trade with EU in January-August

Between January and August 2015, Bulgaria had a negative balance of trade with the EU, which exceeded BGN 2.3 B.

This was revealed by preliminary figures of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), which were released on Monday.

In the first eight months of this year, Bulgarian exports to the EU amounted to BGN 19.2 B, which represented an increase of 9.7 % compared to the same period in 2014.

The main trading partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, France and Belgium, which together accounted for 69.8 % of Bulgarian exports to the EU.

In the month of August alone, Bulgarian exports to the EU amounted to BGN 2.5 B, which represented an increase of 6.7 % compared to the same month in 2014.

Between January and August, Bulgarian imports from the EU amounted to BGN 21.6 B, registering an increase of 6.9 % compared to the same period last year.

The largest volume of goods was imported from Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and Greece.

In August alone, Bulgarian imports from the member states of the EU amounted to BGN 2.4 B, recording an increase of 3.9 % compared to same month in 2014.

The export of chemical substances and products as well as the export of mineral fuels, oils and similar products registered the largest increase in the first eight months of this year, while there was a decrease in the export of soft and alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

The import of soft and alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded the largest increase, while the import of mineral fuels, oils and similar products experienced the highest drop.