Traditionally, the EU is the most important trading partner of Serbia. About 2/3 of total Serbian exchange in goods is carried out with the EU. For comparison, Russia’s share in Serbia’s overall trade is 8%, while the share of China is 4.8%, Turkey’s 2.6% and USA’s 1.7% – based on the data for the first nine months of 2015, i.e. the latest available data. However, the trend itself stretches over a longer period of time.
Exports from Serbia to Italy or Germany alone are significantly higher than Serbia’s exports to Russia, China, Turkey and USA combined. Namely, for the first nine months of 2015, Serbian exports to the Russian Federation in terms of value made 5.3% of country’s overall exports (exports to the USA, Turkey and China accounted for only 1.9%, 2% and 0.1%, respectively).
In terms of imports, clearly, the EU is the main supplier of goods to Serbia with a share of 62.5%. In the same comparative period (first nine months of 2015), Russia supplied Serbia with 10.1% of all goods, China with 8.3% and USA with 1.5%.
The EU is also by far the biggest investor in Serbia. From 2005 to mid-2014, the EU has invested about €13.5 billion in Serbia, thereby making for 76.5% of all Serbia’s foreign direct investment (FDI). In comparison, Russia’s FDI in Serbia makes about 4.8% of what the EU invested in Serbia. However, since the official data on FDIs experience methodological flows, the National Bank of Serbia is currently recalculating all these numbers. The only exact figure for the time being therefore is for 2014, showing strongest FDI inflow from the EU of 74% of total FDI.
In terms of favourable loans, Europe contributed with nearly €6 billion to Serbia since 2001.
