Press releases

In the period January - March 2016 the Bulgarian exports to the EU grew by 2.6% compared to the same period of 2015 and amounted to 7 059.9 Million BGN while the imports from the EU increased by 0.4% and reached 7 853.7 Million BGN.

In March 2016 the exports to the EU rose by 3.5% in comparison with the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to 2 507.0 Million BGN while the imports added up to 2 990.7 Million BGN and increased by 3.6%.

In the period January - April 2016 the Bulgarian exports to third countries decreased by 13.8% compared to the same period of 2015 and amounted to 4 632.0 Million BGN while the imports dropped by 19.4% and added up to 4 961.6 Million BGN.

In the period January - April 2016 the total value of all exported goods (both for third countries and EU) amounted to 14 226.1 Million BGN and in comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year the exports decreased by 3.0% while the total value of all imported goods added up to 15 504.4 Million BGN and dropped by 8.0%.

According to the preliminary data, in April 2016 the index of production in section ‘Construction’ calculated on the base of seasonally adjusted data was 2.1% below the level of the previous month. In April 2016 the working day adjusted index of production in construction decreased by 10.4% in comparison with the same month of 2015.

According to the preliminary seasonally adjusted data in April 2016 the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month.

According to the preliminary data the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 0.1% in April 2016 as compared to March 2016. In April 2016 the working day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 2.5% in comparison with the same month of 2015.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2016 is 2.9% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In March 2016 compared to February 2016 a decrease is reported for the production of solid fuels - by 32.5%, liquefied petroleum gases - by 77.8%, unleaded motor gasoline - by 83.0%, transport diesel - by 66.2%, and electricity - by 3.8%. No change is reported for the production of natural gas. The significant decrease observed in the production of petroleum products in March 2016 is due to planned repair of production capacities.

In March 2016 compared to February 2016 an increase is reported for the deliveries of liquefied petroleum gases - by 33.3%, unleaded motor gasoline - by 20.0%, transport diesel - by 43.0%, and electricity - by 1.0%. At the same time a decrease is reported for the deliveries of solid fuels - by 31.5%, and natural gas - by 2.6%.

In May 2016 the total business climate indicator increases by 5.0 percentage points in comparison with the previous month which is due to the improved business climate in all observed sectors - industry, construction, retail trade and service sector.

Total Producer Price Index in April 2016 decreased by 0.4% compared to the previous month; compared to the same month of 2015 the prices went down by 5.2%. Producer Price Index on Domestic Market in April 2016 declined by 0.4% compared to the previous month; compared to the same month of 2015 the domestic prices fell by 4.1%. 

According to preliminary data during the first quarter of 2016 in comparison with the same period of 2015 there was a decrease in the transported goods - by 13.0%, while the transport performance from the freight land and water transport increased by 11.8%.

Compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year the number of transported passengers by passenger transport (land, water and urban electrical transport) rose by 1.1%. The transport performance also registered a 14.3% growth compared to first quarter of 2015.