Ljubljana, 07 June (STA) - Slovenia exported EUR 2.81 billion worth of merchandise in April, an increase of 12.9% on the same month a year ago, while imports surged by 28.4% to EUR 3.09 billion, creating a trade deficit of EUR 278 million.
According to the Statistics Office this is the highest ever monthly trade deficit on record. The export/import ratio in April 2019 was 91%.
Imports from non-EU markets increased by as much as 129% year-on-year to EUR 971 million, while exports from these markets rose by 21.7% to EUR 658 million, opening a deficit of EUR 313 million.
Switzerland was the most important trading partner in this group, in terms of exports and imports, and the most important group of products was medical and pharmaceutical products.
It was in trade in medical and pharmaceutical products with Switzerland that Slovenia posted the highest growth.
Exports to EU countries rose by 10.4% year-on-year to EUR 2.15 billion and imports from these countries increased by 6.9% EUR 2.12 billion, with Slovenia's surplus at EUR 35 million.
In the first four months of the year Slovenia's exports increased by 10% to EUR 11.04 billion, while imports were up 13.9% to EUR 11.17 billion, with the deficit at EUR 128 million and the export/import ratio at 98.9%.