CEFTA States Remain Serbia's Most Important Foreign Trade Partners, Second Only to EU

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The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) remains the most significant trading partner for all signatories, including Serbia, following closely the European Union (EU), with the  total trade within this free trade agreement in Southeast Europe reaching EUR 12 billion in 2022, Acting Director of the CEFTA Secretariat Danijela Gacevic said on March 27.

"Total trade in goods has increased by 146 percent in the last 10 years, with exports growing even faster, from EUR 19.7 billion in 2012 to EUR 54.9 billion in 2022," Gacevic said to BETA.

According to her, statistics had also shown that in 2022, exports by all parties to the Agreement reached the value of EUR 8.4 billion - 27 percent more than in 2021, when it was 6.6 billion euros.

"Exports to CEFTA states accounted for 15.4 percent of Serbia's total exports in 2023, creating its largest export market after the EU, where Serbia has placed 63.2 percent of its total exports. For Serbia, CEFTA is becoming a key export market, surpassing even the exports to countries such as Germany. In 2022, exports to CEFTA states were 28 percent higher than exports to Germany, reaching over four billion euros," Gacevic explained.