October 1 (SeeNews) - The U.N.-administered Serbian province of Kosovo extended its trade deficit in August by 15.2% year-on-year, to 136 million euro ($193.51 million), as both exports and imports increased on the year, the Kosovo Statistics Office said on Monday.
Kosovo reported a trade deficit of 111.936 million euro in July, up 13.4% on the year.
The province exported mainly raw materials, which accounted for 48.1% of the August export total. Exports of vegetable and prepared foods accounted for 8.9% and 7.9% respectively, the statistics office said in its monthly report.
Kosovo imported mostly raw materials, 20.1% of the total, followed by food, beverages and tobacco with a combined share of 15.5%. Machines and electrical appliances represented 10.7% of all imports.
Kosovo's main export market was Macedonia, followed by the rest of Serbia. Even though it is still part of Serbia, Kosovo operates customs offices at its borders with the other parts of the country. Exports to Macedonia totalled 3.2 million euro, 25.1% of the total, while exports to Serbia were 2.58 million euro, 20.2% of the total.
For their greater part Kosovo's imports originated in Macedonia. Imports from Macedonia accounted for 18% of the total, followed by imports form the rest of Serbia with 14.2%.
The European Union member states accounted for 27.5% of Kosovo exports and 34.4% of the province's imports in August.
KOSOVO AUGUST TRADE BALANCE (in millions of euro):
|
|
August’07 |
August’06 |
y/y pct change |
| Exports |
12.79 |
11.03 |
+15.95 |
| Imports |
148.78 |
129.08 |
+15.26 |
| Balance |
-135.99 |
-118.05 |
+15.2 |
Legally still part of Serbia, Kosovo has been under U.N. administration since 1999 following NATO bombings that expelled Serb forces to end what Western powers said was repression of civilians in fighting an ethnic Albanian rebel insurgency. Ethnic Albanians, who outnumber Serbs and other nationalities in the province by nine to one, are seeking independence, while Belgrade says Kosovo is an indivisible part of Serbia.
The final status of Kosovo is expected to be determined later this year.
($=0.7028 euro)