SARAJEVO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The total foreign trade volume of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) reached 24.86 billion convertible marks (14.66 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, marking a 5.33 percent increase year-on-year, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on Thursday.
According to the latest official data, the country's exports from January to June rose by 4.67 percent to hit 9.06 billion marks. Meanwhile, imports grew by 5.71 percent, totaling 15.80 billion marks. This faster growth in imports widened BiH's trade deficit by 7.13 percent to 6.74 billion marks, subsequently causing the export-to-import coverage ratio to drop to 57.3 percent.
Vjekoslav Vukovic, vice president of the Foreign Trade Chamber, said that the European Union remains the country's primary trading partner, absorbing nearly 77 percent of its total exports. He noted that the robust growth in exports to Croatia and Germany proves the resilience of domestic economy.
However, Vukovic warned that the expanding trade deficit reflects a persistent and heavy reliance on foreign goods, emphasizing that the country must urgently enhance export competitiveness of local companies, scale up shipping volumes, and diversify its target markets.
The country continues to face significant structural challenges, particularly regarding its import-heavy consumer market and underperforming domestic industries, said Belma Alihodzic from the Chamber's Macroeconomic System Department.
She also noted that the high volume of imported final consumer goods combined with under-utilized domestic production capacities have created a major bottleneck.
Looking ahead, Alihodzic concluded that the trade dynamics and trends are expected to persist through the end of 2026. (1 Bosnian convertible mark = 0.59 U.S. dollar) ■
