Bulgaria's 9-mo trade deficit with Russia more than doubles y/y - stats office

Russia was the origin of the largest amount of imports to Bulgaria from non-EU countries in January-September, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a monthly report, citing preliminary data.

The value of Bulgaria's imports of goods (CIF) from Russia, which exclude natural gas since April when Gazprom stopped deliveries, rose to nearly 9 billion levs in January-September from 4.1 billion levs a year earlier.

Exports (FOB) from Bulgaria to Russia added 9.2% on the year reaching 660.1 million levs in the review period, rising for the third consecutive month.

Ukraine remained Bulgaria's third-largest non-EU trading partner in the nine months to end-September, after Turkey and Serbia. Bulgaria's nine-month deficit in trade in goods with Ukraine almost doubled year-on-year, slightly exceeding the 1 billion levs mark.

Bulgarian exports (FOB) to Ukraine surged by an annual 133.6% to 1.42 billion levs, while imports (CIF) from Ukraine, for the large part consisting of grains, rose 107.7% to reach over 2.4 billion levs.

Bulgaria's total deficit in trade in goods with third countries expanded to 13.3 billion levs in the first nine months of 2022 compared to 4.6 billion levs in January-September 2021.

Earlier this week, the Russian government prohibited deals with 74 foreign arms producers, including fifteen Bulgarian companies.

The move comes after the Bulgarian parliament last week gave the green light for the delivery of military assistance to Ukraine for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion in February.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)