Bosnia’s exports soared by 76% y/y to $679mn in April, while imports rose by 65% to $1.94bn, with both performances sustained by the low base effects.
The exports’ annual growth rate accelerated from 12% in January and averaged 37.5% for the whole January-April period when the total exports were $2.57bn.
Bosnia’s imports, typically much larger than its exports, advanced moderately in January-February to gain momentum only in April and partly in March (+29% y/y). For the first four months of the year, the total imports were $3.75bn.
Bosnia’s exports and imports naturally contracted during 2020 to recover gradually in the first months of 2021. The trade balance followed a similar pattern, in contrast to some countries that saw their external balance actually deteriorating during the pandemic. But with the rebound in exports and imports, and the gradual economic relaxation, the trade deficit tends to increase as well.
Thus, in April alone, Bosnia’s trade gap rose by 47.2% y/y to $357mn.
Bosnia [$ '000s] | Export | Export | Export | Import | Import | Import | Balance | Balance | Balance |
2020 | 2021 | y/y | 2020 | 2021 | y/y | 2020 | 2021 | y/y | |
Jan-Apr | 1,867,175 | 2,567,505 | 37.5% | 3,044,193 | 3,747,028 | 23.1% | -1,177,018 | -1,179,523 | 0.2% |
January | 486,406 | 549,076 | 12.9% | 702,564 | 726,269 | 3.4% | -216,158 | -177,193 | -18.0% |
February | 514,987 | 635,645 | 23.4% | 874,658 | 903,851 | 3.3% | -359,671 | -268,206 | -25.4% |
March | 479,217 | 703,467 | 46.8% | 837,884 | 1,080,521 | 29.0% | -358,667 | -377,054 | 5.1% |
April | 386,565 | 679,316 | 75.7% | 629,087 | 1,036,388 | 64.7% | -242,522 | -357,072 | 47.2% |
Source: bhas.ba |