Bulgaria's exports fall by another 1% in February

The total value of Bulgarian exports for the first two months of 2025 lagged by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2024. This is what preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) shows. The decline in sales was recorded in both the direction of EU countries and non-EU countries.

In the period January - February 2025, a total of 6.4 billion euros worth of goods were exported from Bulgaria. In the second month of the year alone, exports amounted to 3.3 billion euros - a decrease of 1% compared to the same month of the previous year.

NSI data also show that since the beginning of 2024, there have been only two months in which exports have grown on an annual basis – April and July of 2024.

Foreign trade balance

In terms of imports, for the first two months of 2025, a total of goods worth 8 billion euros (at CIF prices) arrived in Bulgaria, or 5.2% more than in the same period in 2024.

In February 2025 alone, imports increased by 0.2% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to 3.8 billion euros.

The total foreign trade balance was negative for the period January - February 2025 and was valued at 1.5 billion euros. For February 2025 alone, the total foreign trade balance was also negative – 495.4 million euros.

Bulgaria's trade balance with non-EU countries for the period January - February 2025 was also negative, amounting to 1.2 billion euros. The largest gaps are with China, Turkey and Kazakhstan. Regarding the USA, Bulgaria maintains a positive trade balance of 33 million euros. In this situation, if Bulgaria were not an EU member, it would have been subjected to 20% import duties by the Trump administration.

Main trading partners

Bulgaria's main trading partners are Turkey, the United States of America, Serbia, Algeria, the Republic of North Macedonia, Ukraine and Gibraltar, which account for 53.1% of exports to third countries.

In exports, distributed according to the Standard Foreign Trade Classification, the largest growth was recorded in the "Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and tobacco" category (105.7%). The largest decline was observed in the "Animal and vegetable fats, oils and waxes" category (88.7%).

Imports from third countries in the period January - February 2025 increased by 17.2% compared to the same period in 2024 and amounted to 3.4 billion euros. The largest in terms of value is the volume of goods imported from Turkey, China, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In February 2025, imports of goods into Bulgaria from non-EU countries increased by 4.0% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to 1.5 billion euros.

Regarding imports, according to the Standard Foreign Trade Classification, the largest increase was recorded in the "Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.c." category (50.7%). The largest decrease was observed in the "Unprocessed (raw) materials, unfit for consumption (excl. fuels)" category (13.2%).

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov