Hungary's imports from China rose by more than a fifth in forint terms in 2019, making China Hungary's second-biggest import partner, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on August 18.

Exports last year increased by 3.9% to €108.9bn to an all-time high and imports climbed 4.8% to €104.1bn, which is also the highest level on record. The country’s trade surplus for the full year came to €4.85bn, narrowing by €665mn from 2018 and down €3.2bn from its peak of €8bn in 2017.

Hungary had a significant trade deficit only with China and Russia while raking up hefty surpluses with the EU15 and the remaining EU countries. 81% of Hungary's exports and 74% of its imports were with the EU.

With a 6.1% share in Hungary's total import, China became the second behind Germany, traditionally Hungary's biggest foreign trade partner with a 25.3% share in imports last year.

China jumped forward from fourth place in 2018, overtaking Austria (6.1%) and Poland (5.8%). The rankings for fifth to 10th place remained unchanged from 2018: the Netherlands remained fifth, followed by the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Russia and France.

The first ten import partners were the same as in 2018, and all but two - China and Russia - were EU members. The first ten represented 70% of all imports.

The list of Hungary's ten biggest export partners were solely EU members, accounting for 67% of total foreign sales. Germany was Hungary’s largest market with a share of 27.7%.

Hungary's exports to the EU’s largest economy rose at an above-average 7.8% in forint terms, mainly due to the expansion of vehicle and telecom equipment export. Slovakia remained the second-biggest export market with a share of 5.2%, then came Italy (5.2%), Romania (5.1%), and Austria (4.6%).