Serbia’s top five trading partners list has changed. Germany remains Serbia’s largest trading partner, closely followed by China. Italy, Turkey, and Hungary are other significant import and export partners.
A major economic downturn that Germany is now grappling with made Serbia export to China and Turkey at such a significant scale this year.
Various challenges that Europe is facing have repercussions for Serbia, for example, a potential delay of up to two months in joining the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and protests in Belgrade and other cities.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s exports to China and Turkey increase.
Data published in the latest issue of Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends (MAT) from December report that Serbian exports to China in the first nine months of this year grew up by 65% and attained €531 million, while exports to Turkey increased by 80% and reached €300 million.
The export-to-import coverage ratio in trade with China was 24.1% between January and September 2023, compared to 35.6% this year.
When minor delays in Serbia’s entry into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) were announced by EU officials last autumn, Serbian political leaders suggested in their recent statements that the delay could extend to two months beyond the initially planned date of January 1, 2025.
Cheaper payment transactions within the region and the EU, Serbia’s largest export market, will be possible due to joining SEPA.
As Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated during his visit to Brussels on Wednesday, they expected Serbia to join SEPA in January or February, without providing further details. According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, only Albania and Montenegro will join the system next year, followed by North Macedonia and Serbia.
Interest rates were reduced by 25 basis points for the third time by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, as investors chose to avoid risky investments while the move was anticipated.
As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks, although they expected the rate cut and subsequent comments during a press conference, the central bank might delay further rate cuts until 2025, even if inflation remains above 2%. A reaction in the markets was sparked by this.
Two to three rate cuts are anticipated by the market next year. As Mark Luschini of Janney Montgomery Scott commented to Bloomberg, that is an overreaction. According to him, the market’s surprise over the forecast of only one rate cut in 2025 seems exaggerated and unwarranted.
NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.
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