Exports of goods from Bosnia and Herzegovina in March this year compared to March last year fell by more than 152 million BAM, and it is almost certain that this trend will continue in April.
According to data from the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, in March 2019, exports from Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to 1,022,037,545 BAM, while in March this year, these exports amounted to only 869,645,982 BAM.
Unlike March, in the first two months of this year, exports from BiH were on the same level as last year, so in January 2019, 883 million BAM was exported, and this year 888 million BAM, while in February this year 950 million BAM was exported from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and last year in the same month it was 952 million BAM, Biznis Info reports.
Vice president of the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber Nemanja Vasic explaned that this drop in exports is mainly related to transport problems, but to a large extent due to fewer orders from abroad, especially from Italy.
“In the next month, one can expect a bigger drop, but not so big, since in March there was a big problem with transport, so there was a market, just because of transport problems it could not be done. It’s much easier now,” Vasic explained.
He points out that certain industries have experienced a decline, notably footwear and textiles, given that many jobs were related to Italy, but also that there are full-time jobs such as the food industry in our country and in the world.
The fall in exports was also strongly influenced by the fall in the timber industry, ie reduced orders from Italy in this area, and it was reported earlier that one pellet factory had stopped production since Italian partners canceled orders and that due to problems with transporting to that country at one time made it practically impossible to do anything.
In addition to exports, imports in BiH dropped significantly, especially in March, by as much as 290 million BAM.
In March 2019, 1,573,374,301 BAM of goods were imported into BiH, while in the same month this year, imports amounted to 1,510,612,322 BAM.
Imports of goods in BiH also fell in January this year compared to January last year, since in the first month of 2019 these imports amounted to 1,331,480,179 BAM and in January this year 1,257,454,240 BAM. The total decline in imports in the first three months of this year amounted to 7.3 percent or 340.1 million BAM.
