Bulgarias foreign trade gap more than doubles in Jan-May on rising imports.

By bne IntelliNews July 11, 2012
Bulgarias foreign trade deficit expanded to BGN 3,235mn (EUR 1,654mn) in the first five months of the year, up from BGN 1,308mn a year earlier as exports growth remains sluggish, preliminary data of the statistics office shows. In May alone, the gap surged by 78% on the year to BGN 816.6mn as a result of significant imports upsurge. Trade balances with both EU and non-EU states were negative. The EU states deficit accounted for 48.7% of the total gap in Jan-May, up from 42% in the year-ago period. Total exports inched up 0.9% y/y in Jan-May. This is the first cumulative annual rise reported for the year and is mainly due to a 10.7% growth reported in May alone. The positive developments in May were mainly triggered by strong growth in exports to non-EU states, which went up by 25% y/y while exports to the EU increased by just 2.2% Imports grew by 12.1% on the year in Jan-May and by 19% y/y in May alone. Still, the growth rate is slower compared to the 21.2% y/y increase registered last year.
Bulgaria's foreign trade
Months/Quarter Exports Imports Trade gap Exports Imports Trade gap
Total (BGN mn) Total (BGN mn) Total (BGN mn) y/y y/y y/y
2011 39,560.00 43,422.00 -3,862.00
Jan-12 2,806.60 3,213.30 -406.7 -9.97% 1.89% 1014.25%
Feb-12 2,889.90 3,424.60 -534.7 -1.61% 13.76% 630.46%
Mar-12 3,365.00 4,026.40 -661.4 1.92% 12.27% 132.31%
Q1 2012 9,061.50 10,664.30 -1,602.80 -3.15% 9.37% 306.39%
Apr-12 3,236.60 4,052.60 -816.00 2.77% 12.45% 79.54%
May-12 3,593.40 4,410.00 -816.60 10.71% 19.03% 77.87%
Jan-May 2012 15,891.50 19,126.90 -3,235.40 0.89% 12.12% 147.35%
Source: statistics office
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