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Data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia report that China was the largest Serbia’s import partner in 2024 (USD 481.6 million), and Germany was its largest export partner (USD 363.6 million).
60% of Serbia’s total trade in goods the EU were accounted for in 2023. The Statistical Office reports that in spite of increase of Serbia’s foreign trade in goods by 3.9% in January- September 2024, the trade deficit grew up by 20.4% compared to the same period last year. The deficit with China attained USD 316.5 million, with Germany -USD 89.6 million. Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Italy and Romania are the most important foreign trade partners in exports in September 2024, while China, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Poland are the most important partners in imports.
About 60% of goods are exempted from customs duties according to a Free Trade Agreement signed by Serbia with China on July 1, 2024. Nevertheless, Serbia is still not included in Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Serbia can carry out financial transactions with the EU easily, but it can’t get commission costs reduced. As the National Bank of Serbia says, that the process of harmonizing domestic banking systems with SEPA standards has been underway since 2014, and they are only waiting for the green light from the European Union. According to Bloomberg, Serbia’s entry into SEPA could take up to two months compared to the originally planned deadline – January 1, 2025.
As the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia states in the December edition of MAT (Macroeconomic Analysis and Trends), Serbia has found an alternative to subdued demand from the EU this year in the markets of China and Turkey and achieved a 1.9% growth in goods exports.
The same data show an increase of exports by 65% to China and by 80% to Turkey from September 2023 to September 2024.
As the EU states for You website, four billion euros in grants and seven billion euros in soft loans have been invested by the European Union in the last ten years. Contraversely, data from the National Bank of Serbia show that China invested EUR 5.5 billion in the period from 2010 to 2023.
The 15 largest exporters from Serbia in 2023 had the export value of seven billion euros. Bloomberg reports that Chinese companies that sell copper, gold and steel on foreign markets (China Railway International Co Ltd, China Communications Construction Company Ltd., Linglong International) achieved a third of that amount.
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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According to press service for the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry and the State Customs Service, 21.256 million tonnes of grains and grain legumes have been exported by Ukraine since the beginning of the 2024-2025 marketing year (July 2024-June 2025), and 2.882 million tonnes of them were shipped since the beginning of December.
Last year, the overall amount of shipments attained 17.484 million tonnes and 4.387 million tonnes in December 2023.
Ukraine has exported 9.613 million tonnes of wheat since the beginning of the current season, compared to 7.255 million tonnes in the 2023-2024 marketing year, as well as 1.968 million tonnes of barley (991,000 tonnes), 10,800 tonnes of rye (1,000 tonnes), and 9.351 million tonnes of corn (9.097 million tonnes).
They estimated the total export of Ukrainian flour at 37,000 tonnes since the beginning of the season (57,000 tonnes in the 2023-2024 marketing year), including 33,900 tonnes of wheat flour (54.200 tonnes).
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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According to amendments to the law on road traffic that come into force this month, subjecting vehicles in the M2, M3, N1, N2, N3, O3, and O4 categories to inspection, they will conduct roadside inspections for carriers in designated roadside zones in Georgia starting from this year.
Administrative fines ranging from ₾500 ($177) to ₾5,000 ($1,779), depending on the severity of the offence, will be charged for violations identified during inspections.
Compliance with the rules for transporting dangerous goods, the driver’s work and rest regime and the use of the electronic card of the control device – tachograph, technical condition of the vehicle, and compliance with the rules for securing cargo to the body will be included in the inspections.
Inspectors will also check the compliance with the rules for using the relevant permit document related to international road transport and transportation, compliance with the rules for installing and calibrating the control device and speed limiter and mass and dimensions of the vehicle.
Inspections will be carried out by the Land Transport Agency, while a Government decree will determine the rules for road inspections in the roadside zones.
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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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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As the National Statistics Office said on Friday, Georgia’s external trade turnover attained $21.1 billion between January-November (6.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year).
The raise of imports attained (6.1 percent, $15.1 billion in total), while the growth of exports reached 7.9 percent ($6 billion).
The share of the trade deficit (a measure of the negative balance of trade in which a country’s imports exceed its exports) in trade turnover was observed at 43 percent (totally $9.08 billion).
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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As the Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment said on Wednesday, the exports of Serbia’s information and communication technologies (ICT) sector increased by an annual 20% in the first ten months of 2024.
A trade surplus of 2.62 billion euro In the January-October period made the value of Serbia’s ICT sector exports reach 3.342 billion euro ($3.5 billion).
Only in October, the value of Serbia’s ICT sector exports attained 375 million euro (30% growth year-on-year).
Serbia’s revenue from ICT exports increased tenfold in the decade 2013-2023.
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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According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s deficit of foreign trade in goods increased by 2.3% (from $22.194 billion in January-October 2023 to $22.704 billion in the same period of 2024).
The growth of exports of goods from Ukraine attained 15.7% ($34.727 billion in January-October 2024 year-on-year) and the raise of mports reached 10% ($57.432 billion year-on-year).
A 7% growth was demonstrated by Ukraine’s seasonally adjusted exports ($3.52 billion), while imports the increase of imports was 1.9% ($6.02 billion in October 2024 month-on-month).
The seasonally adjusted trade deficit stood decreased from $2.62 billion recorded in September to $2.5 billion in October.
The export-import coverage ratio equaled to 0.6 in January-October 2024 (0.57 in January-October 2023).
Ukraine conducted foreign trade operations with partners from 228 countries.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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Compared to the previous year, Georgia-EU trade turnover increased by 9.8% (USD 362 million) in January-October 2024 and exceeded USD 4 billion. It makes 2024 a record year in terms of trade with the EU, taking into account that the turnover for 2023 amounted to USD 4.5 billion. 88% of the trade turnover with the EU accounted for imports in the first ten months of this year. The volume of exports was only USD 456 million in January-October, while imports reached USD 3.6 billion.
The value of imports of automobiles amounted to USD 628.5 million this year, so cars are the most valuable imported item from the EU to Georgia. The second place among the items imported from the EU was taken by oil and oil products with USD 360.4 million spent on them. Packaged medicines took the third place with the export equaled to USD 245 million in January-October. Trucks worth USD 87.5 million and mobile phones worth USD 68.3 million were also found among the top five products imported from the EU.
The situation observed in terms of exports in relation to the EU is different. Locally produced or obtained products are mostly exported by the EU, though exports is only 12% of trade turnover, in terms of goods. They sell Georgian hazelnuts in the EU at the highest value, reaching USD 45.3 million in January-October of this year. Copper ores and precious metals are in second and third place (USD 42.5 million and USD 39.8 million, respectively). Oil and oil products (USD 30.5 million) and Georgian wine (USD 26.8 million) are also in the top five exported items this year.
Georgia’s foreign trade turnover reached a historical maximum, or record, for this period of the year in January-October 2024 (USD 19 billion, almost USD 1 billion, or 5.5%, more than last year. In case if the trend of import-export increase continues until the end of the year, the current year is also likely to be a record in this regar. The total turnover attained USD 21.7 billion last year.
Imports and exports data still form a sharp skew of foreign trade towards imports. The nature of the Georgian economy can explain this. In January-October 2024, exports almost attained USD 5.5 billion, while imports reached USD 13.5 million. There was an increase of exports by 7.4% annually and a growth of imports by 4.8% accordingly. Light vehicles have a significant influence on the growth of both imports and exports.
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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PKS following the Alliance’s official formation made the announcement that the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) has become a co-founder and member of the newly established Alliance of Chambers of Commerce for the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), aimed at connecting Western China with Southeast Asia and Europe. Over 20 national chambers of commerce and industry, from the Philippines to Indonesia are brought together by the ILSTC Chamber Alliance.

Marko Čadež, President of PKS, called for uniting not only businesspeople to trade more efficiently along the corridor but also for sparking collective innovation and creating a shared platform for startups from ILSTC member countries, especially those focused on new technologies in logistics, during the inauguration ceremony in Beijing.
The importance of international cooperation, not just in trade but in fostering business growth, was also emphasized and last month’s founding meeting of the Alliance in China, where member chambers agreed to work jointly on improving trade, logistics, and transport across the corridor was recalled by him.
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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