Trade in goods with the EU Member States - Intrastat, and foreign trade turnover of Bulgaria - preliminary data - April 2025

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Trade in goods with the EU Member States - Intrastat, and foreign trade turnover of Bulgaria - preliminary data - April 2025

In the period January - April 2025, the exports of goods from Bulgaria to the EU decreased by 4.2% in comparison with the same period of 2024 and amounted to 16 957.3 million BGN (Annex, Tables 1 and 2). Main trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece and France, which accounted for 62.8% of the exports to the EU Member States (Annex, Table 3).

 

      %

[1] Value changes at current prices.

 

In the exports of goods from Bulgaria to the EU, distributed according to the Standard International Trade Classification, the most notable growth was recorded in the section ‘Food and live animals’ (24.2%) (Annex, Table 4). The most notable fall was reported in the section ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (40.6%).

In April 2025, the exports to the EU decreased by 12.1% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to 4 208.3 million BGN.

The imports of goods to Bulgaria from the EU in the period January - April 2025 decreased by 1.2% in comparison with the same period of 2024 and amounted to 18 691.8 million BGN (at CIF prices)¹ (Annex, Tables 1 and 2). The largest amounts were reported for the goods imported from Germany, Romania, Greece, Italy and Poland (Annex, Table 3).

 

 

       %

[1] Imports at FOB prices are calculated by BNB (http://bnb.bg/Statistics/StExternalSector/StForeignTrade/StFTImports/index.htm?toLang=_EN).

[2] Value changes at current prices.

 

 

In the imports of goods to Bulgaria from the EU Member States, distributed according to the Standard International Trade Classification, the largest growth was recorded in the section ‘Beverages and tobacco’ (31.3%). The most notable fall was reported in the section ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (24.6%).

In April 2025, the imports from the EU dropped by 6.2% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and reached 4 793.3 million BGN.

The foreign trade balance of Bulgaria (export FOB - import CIF) with the EU in the period January - April 2025 was negative and added up to 1 734.5 million BGN (Annex, Table 1 and Table 3).

 

 

Annex

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Table 1. Exports, imports and trade balance of Bulgaria in the period January - April 2024[1] and 2025[1] by months
(Million BGN)
Months/Periods Exports - FOB Total Exports - FOB EU Exports - FOB Non EU Imports - CIF[2] Total Imports - CIF[2] EU Imports - CIF[2] Non EU Trade balance - FOB/CIF Total Trade balance - FOB/CIF EU Trade balance - FOB/CIF Non EU
I.2024 6373.9 4095 2278.9 7418.2 4534.1 2884.1 -1044.3 -439.1 -605.2
II.2024 6684.5 4245.6 2438.9 7575.8 4624 2951.8 -891.3 -378.4 -512.9
III.2024 7318.5 4581.1 2737.4 8040 4645 3395 -721.5 -63.9 -657.6
I - III.2024 20376.9 12921.7 7455.2 23034 13803.1 9230.9 -2657.1 -881.4 -1775.7
IV.2024 7444.6 4785.1 2659.5 8544.6 5109.9 3434.7 -1100 -324.8 -775.2
I - IV.2024 27821.5 17706.8 10114.7 31578.6 18913 12665.6 -3757.1 -1206.2 -2550.9
I.2025 6304 4181.9 2122.1 8205.7 4434.3 3771.4 -1901.7 -252.4 -1649.3
II.2025 6669 4134.5 2534.5 7601 4516.1 3084.9 -932 -381.6 -550.4
III.2025 6942.1 4432.6 2509.5 8841.6 4948.1 3893.5 -1899.5 -515.5 -1384
I - III.2025 19915.1 12749 7166.1 24648.3 13898.5 10749.8 -4733.2 -1149.5 -3583.7
IV.2025 6583.3 4208.3 2375 8460.2 4793.3 3666.9 -1876.9 -585 -1291.9
I - IV.2025 26498.4 16957.3 9541.1 33108.5 18691.8 14416.7 -6610.1 -1734.5 -4875.6

[1] Data are preliminary as of July 10, 2025.

[2] Imports at FOB prices are calculated by BNB (http://bnb.bg/Statistics/StExternalSector/StForeignTrade/StFTImports/index.htm?toLang=_EN).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Table 2. Value changes of exports and imports of Bulgaria in the period January - April 2025[1] compared to the same period of the previous year
(Per cent)
Months/Periods Exports - FOB Total Exports - FOB EU Exports - FOB Non EU Imports - CIF Total Imports - CIF EU Imports - CIF Non EU
I -1.1 2.1 -6.9 10.6 -2.2 30.8
II -0.2 -2.6 3.9 0.3 -2.3 4.5
III -5.1 -3.2 -8.3 10.0 6.5 14.7
I - III -2.3 -1.3 -3.9 7.0 0.7 16.5
IV -11.6 -12.1 -10.7 -1.0 -6.2 6.8
I - IV -4.8 -4.2 -5.7 4.8 -1.2 13.8

[1] Data are preliminary as of July 10, 2025.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Table 3. Exports, imports and trade balance by groups of countries and main partner countries[1] of Bulgaria in the period January - April 2024[2] and 2025[2]
Countries,territories and groups of countries Exports - FOB 2024 Exports - FOB 2025 Exports - FOB Change compared to the same period of the previous year Imports - CIF 2024 Imports - CIF 2025 Imports - CIF Change compared to the same period of the previous year Trade balance - FOB/CIF 2024 Trade balance - FOB/CIF 2025
Million BGN Million BGN % Million BGN Million BGN % Million BGN Million BGN
Total 27821.5 26498.4 -4.8 31578.6 33108.5 4.8 -3757.1 -6610.1
EU 17706.8 16957.3 -4.2 18913.0 18691.8 -1.2 -1206.2 -1734.5
Austria 462.2 506.7 9.6 788.3 775.8 -1.6 -326.1 -269.1
Belgium 693.1 372.9 -46.2 636.8 726.9 14.1 56.3 -354.0
Croatia 406.5 192.2 -52.7 103.1 120.1 16.5 303.4 72.1
Cyprus 81.1 100.6 24.0 25.7 39.4 53.3 55.4 61.2
Czechia 559.1 528.6 -5.5 881.2 807.5 -8.4 -322.1 -278.9
Denmark 127.2 159.5 25.4 167.6 146.0 -12.9 -40.4 13.5
Estonia 32.0 32.6 1.9 104.8 220.1 110.0 -72.8 -187.5
Finland 56.7 59.1 4.2 72.7 61.9 -14.9 -16.0 -2.8
France 949.8 865.5 -8.9 817.4 757.4 -7.3 132.4 108.1
Germany 4266.6 3844.9 -9.9 3668.1 3757.4 2.4 598.5 87.5
Greece 1444.2 1459.5 1.1 1724.9 1679.6 -2.6 -280.7 -220.1
Hungary 384.7 389.3 1.2 1110.8 1163.0 4.7 -726.1 -773.7
Ireland 87.1 88.1 1.1 121.6 155.0 27.5 -34.5 -66.9
Italy 2028.6 1900.1 -6.3 1897.6 1670.9 -11.9 131.0 229.2
Latvia 29.9 37.8 26.4 32.0 31.5 -1.6 -2.1 6.3
Lithuania 68.4 74.4 8.8 84.2 84.7 0.6 -15.8 -10.3
Luxembourg 10.4 8.3 -20.2 23.8 24.4 2.5 -13.4 -16.1
Malta 12.3 10.0 -18.7 8.8 5.5 -37.5 3.5 4.5
Netherlands 522.8 559.6 7.0 1224.6 1208.8 -1.3 -701.8 -649.2
Poland 727.4 756.0 3.9 1157.0 1242.3 7.4 -429.6 -486.3
Portugal 81.6 78.8 -3.4 74.5 84.0 12.8 7.1 -5.2
Romania 2279.4 2584.6 13.4 2439.3 2121.1 -13.0 -159.9 463.5
Slovakia 294.7 275.7 -6.4 405.4 426.3 5.2 -110.7 -150.6
Slovenia 154.6 120.0 -22.4 292.0 429.1 47.0 -137.4 -309.1
Spain 526.7 558.7 6.1 537.6 594.0 10.5 -10.9 -35.3
Sweden 270.8 257.4 -4.9 219.0 163.6 -25.3 51.8 93.8
Not specified 1148.9 1136.4 -1.1 294.2 195.5 -33.5 854.7 940.9
Non EU countries 10114.7 9541.1 -5.7 12665.6 14416.7 13.8 -2550.9 -4875.6
CIS[3] 600.1 572.3 -4.6 899.3 842.6 -6.3 -299.2 -270.3
of which:
Kazakhstan 65.5 49.2 -24.9 2.2 540.7 24477.3 63.3 -491.5
Russian Federation 236.1 253.6 7.4 794.6 220.8 -72.2 -558.5 32.8
OECD[4] 3803.9 3804.7 0.0 4652.2 5777.9 24.2 -848.3 -1973.2
of which:
Canada 107.1 113.7 6.2 122.2 272.1 122.7 -15.1 -158.4
Chile 18.3 20.3 10.9 189.6 95.3 -49.7 -171.3 -75.0
Israel 85.0 97.9 15.2 35.6 59.7 67.7 49.4 38.2
Japan 47.1 48.7 3.4 114.6 108.7 -5.1 -67.5 -60.0
Korea, Republic of 196.6 51.7 -73.7 109.0 115.2 5.7 87.6 -63.5
Turkey 1836.5 2125.8 15.8 2910.8 3915.8 34.5 -1074.3 -1790.0
United Kingdom[5] 458.1 291.3 -36.4 287.4 241.5 -16.0 170.7 49.8
United States 657.1 677.6 3.1 311.6 553.5 77.6 345.5 124.1
EFTA[6] 277.2 270.8 -2.3 509.4 331.8 -34.9 -232.2 -61.0
of which:
Norway 47.8 49.8 4.2 228.1 29.6 -87.0 -180.3 20.2
Switzerland 227.4 218.9 -3.7 279.6 300.5 7.5 -52.2 -81.6
Countries not included
in the upper groups
Albania 280.4 83.8 -70.1 32.1 37.5 16.8 248.3 46.3
Algeria 212.2 522.1 146.0 28.5 2.0 -93.0 183.7 520.1
Bosnia and Herzegovina 58.9 55.9 -5.1 19.9 21.8 9.5 39.0 34.1
Brazil 30.3 25.3 -16.5 236.6 389.0 64.4 -206.3 -363.7
China 575.7 344.3 -40.2 1542.9 2077.0 34.6 -967.2 -1732.7
Egypt 422.7 152.2 -64.0 835.7 173.4 -79.3 -413.0 -21.2
Georgia 236.7 211.8 -10.5 69.0 283.0 310.1 167.7 -71.2
India 99.3 115.3 16.1 141.8 161.6 14.0 -42.5 -46.3
Indonesia 51.8 23.9 -53.9 271.4 23.7 -91.3 -219.6 0.2
Iran, Islamic Republic of 104.8 65.1 -37.9 37.8 47.6 25.9 67.0 17.5
Peru 7.3 13.0 78.1 226.4 188.2 -16.9 -219.1 -175.2
Republic of North Macedonia 523.7 522.3 -0.3 306.8 368.2 20.0 216.9 154.1
Serbia 596.5 547.5 -8.2 624.4 780.2 25.0 -27.9 -232.7
Singapore 28.2 31.6 12.1 16.1 19.6 21.7 12.1 12.0
South Africa 60.0 29.8 -50.3 23.4 7.0 -70.1 36.6 22.8
Taiwan[7] 25.0 14.8 -40.8 89.3 70.6 -20.9 -64.3 -55.8
Tunisia 88.7 149.2 68.2 67.8 18.7 -72.4 20.9 130.5
Ukraine 340.3 355.4 4.4 774.0 746.5 -3.6 -433.7 -391.1
United Arab Emirates 102.8 108.8 5.8 30.1 42.8 42.2 72.7 66.0
Viet Nam 28.4 20.4 -28.2 109.6 112.9 3.0 -81.2 -92.5

[1] Partner country:

In case of exports (or dispatches) is the country (or Member State) of final destination of the goods

In case of imports (or arrivals) is the country (or Member State) of consignment of the goods.

[2] Data are preliminary as of July 10, 2025.

[3] CIS includes: Azerbaijan; Armenia; Belarus; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Moldova, Republic of; Russian Federation; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

[4] OECD includes: Australia; Virgin Islands (US); United States; Iceland; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Korea, Republic of; Turkey; United Kingdom; Switzerland; Japan and Israel.

[5] The United Kingdom includes: Northern Ireland; Great Britain; Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

[6] EFTA includes: Norway; Switzerland; Iceland and Liechtenstein.

[7] Separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Table 4. Exports, imports and trade balance of Bulgaria by sections of SITC, rev.4 in the period January - April 2024[1] and 2025[1]
Sections by SITC Exports - FOB 2024 Exports - FOB 2025 Exports - FOB Change compared to the same period of the previous year Imports - CIF 2024 Imports - CIF 2025 Imports - CIF Change compared to the same period of the previous year Trade balance - FOB/CIF 2024 Trade balance - FOB/CIF 2025
Million BGN Million BGN % Million BGN Million BGN % Million BGN Million BGN
Total 27821.5 26498.4 -4.8 31578.6 33108.5 4.8 -3757.1 -6610.1
of which EU 17706.8 16957.3 -4.2 18913.0 18691.8 -1.2 -1206.2 -1734.5
Food and live animals 2849.3 3437.0 20.6 2817.2 3168.1 12.5 32.1 268.9
of which EU 1503.3 1867.7 24.2 2093.0 2263.6 8.2 -589.7 -395.9
Beverages and tobacco 216.3 292.0 35.0 558.2 707.2 26.7 -341.9 -415.2
of which EU 138.3 162.4 17.4 437.7 574.6 31.3 -299.4 -412.2
Crude materials, inedible (except fuel) 1682.5 1813.2 7.8 2774.1 2765.2 -0.3 -1091.6 -952.0
of which EU 903.8 978.7 8.3 752.6 812.4 7.9 151.2 166.3
Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials 2503.4 1227.3 -51.0 3829.0 3681.0 -3.9 -1325.6 -2453.7
of which EU 734.1 436.2 -40.6 1203.7 907.5 -24.6 -469.6 -471.3
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes 442.2 307.9 -30.4 349.3 309.5 -11.4 92.9 -1.6
of which EU 190.2 193.1 1.5 137.1 165.6 20.8 53.1 27.5
Chemical and related products n.e.c. 3036.6 2963.6 -2.4 4188.9 4429.8 5.8 -1152.3 -1466.2
of which EU 1680.2 1789.5 6.5 3118.3 3244.0 4.0 -1438.1 -1454.5
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material 6281.6 5503.9 -12.4 4655.7 4970.9 6.8 1625.9 533.0
of which EU 4639.2 3702.5 -20.2 2345.8 2329.2 -0.7 2293.4 1373.3
Machinery and transport equipment 6532.2 6440.7 -1.4 9344.6 9474.0 1.4 -2812.4 -3033.3
of which EU 4608.3 4532.6 -1.6 6844.0 6292.0 -8.1 -2235.7 -1759.4
Miscellaneous manufactured articles 4238.5 4444.2 4.9 2910.1 3263.5 12.1 1328.4 1180.7
of which EU 3294.6 3272.2 -0.7 1880.6 1821.0 -3.2 1414.0 1451.2
Commodities and transactions n.e.c. 38.9 68.6 76.3 151.5 339.3 124.0 -112.6 -270.7
of which EU 14.8 22.4 51.4 100.2 281.9 181.3 -85.4 -259.5

[1] Data are preliminary as of July 10, 2025.

 

Methodological Notes

Legislative Framework

Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics (including intra-EU trade in goods).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and rules pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704 of 14 July 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council by further specifying the details of the statistical information to be provided by tax and customs authorities, and amending Annexes V and VI thereof (text relevant to the EEA).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1225 of 27 July 2021 laying down the rules for data exchange pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 regarding the member country of extra-EU export and the obligations of reporting units.

Law on Statistics of Intra-EU Trade in Goods effective from 1 July 2012, amended and supplemented, Issue 61 of 2 August 2022.

Scope and Basic Terminology

External trade in goods covers trade with third countries (Extrastat) and with EU Member States (Intrastat), with detailed statistical information collected at the commodity code level (8 digits) of the Combined Nomenclature.

Imports include all goods entering the statistical territory* of the Republic of Bulgaria from other countries intended for domestic consumption, processing in the country for export after processing, as well as imports of goods processed outside the country.

Exports include all goods leaving the statistical territory of the Republic of Bulgaria intended for normal export to another country. This includes goods returned to the trading partner after processing in Bulgaria or goods exported for processing in another country with the intention of being returned to Bulgaria.

The statistical territory of the European Union (EU), in the context of international trade in goods statistics, corresponds to the combined customs territories of the EU member states with one exception: unlike the customs territory, the statistical territory of Germany includes Helgoland.

Statistical volumes of imports and exports do not include imported goods placed under customs warehousing without processing, nor do exports include the re-export of these goods.

International trade statistics do not account for the transit of goods through the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Main Sources of Information

Customs declaration - Single Administrative Document (SAD), which is filled out by all entities importing or exporting goods to/from third countries.

Intrastat declaration for intra-EU imports and exports to/from EU Member States.

The Customs Agency is the institution responsible for collecting customs declarations (SAD), and the National Revenue Agency is responsible for Intrastat declarations.

Trade estimates are made to compensate for the impact of thresholds below which traders are exempt from submitting Intrastat declarations, as well as for those who have not responded.

 

Detailed data can be found on the website of NSI at
Foreign Trade