SARAJEVO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The foreign trade exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) totaled 47.5 billion convertible marks (25.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, up 30 percent year-on-year, the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH said on Wednesday.
In 2022, the country exported goods worth 18.4 convertible marks, up 26 percent year-on-year. The country's imports increased by 33 percent last year to 29.1 billion convertible marks.
The foreign trade deficit was 10.7 billion marks and 63 percent of the country's imports were covered by its exports in 2022.
BiH's most important foreign trade partner is its western neighbor Croatia, a member of the European Union, accounting for almost 17 percent of last year's foreign trade exchanges.
Croatia is followed by Serbia (13.8 percent), Germany (11.3 percent), Italy (8.9 percent) and Slovenia (7.9 percent).
BiH's foreign trade exchanges with China totaled 939 million marks, up 52 percent compared to 2021. Of the total foreign trade exchanges with China, 96 percent relates to imports. Exports to China totaled 38.2 million marks.
Bosnia's top export products include electric energy, aluminum, iron and steel structures, and its top import products are petroleum oils, aluminium and bituminous coal.
Modest on a global scale, BiH's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. Since 2018, the country's foreign trade has grown from 31.9 to 47.5 billion convertible marks, up 49 percent.
"Last year's global economy was marked by negative trends, mostly in the energy sector and in terms of some raw materials shortages and disrupted supply chains, leading to inflation. However, our economy proved resilient, and we have witnessed a growth in exports," Zdravko Marinkovic, head of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, said. (1 convertible mark = 0.54 U.S. dollar)
