Xifres de comerç exterior de Montenegro

Foreign Trade in Figures

Montenegro is a small country open to foreign trade, which represents around 119% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). In order to become a WTO member, Montenegro has established major trade policy reforms, which include the elimination of import quotas, the reduction of import licenses and prohibitions, the streamlining of customs procedures, and the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers. According to 2023 figures by Monstat, the country mainly exports electric current (30.7% of the total), non-ferrous metals (10.7%), cork and wood (6.5%), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (6.2%), beverages (6.2%), and metalliferous ores and metal scrap (5.3%); whereas imports are led by road vehicles (8.7%), petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (8.5%), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (5.0%), meat and meat preparations (4.5%), non-metallic mineral manufactures (4.3%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (4.2%).

In 2023, the European Union as a whole is the main trading partner, accounting for 36.1% of total exports and 45.8% of imports (data Monstat). On a country level, the main export destinations were Serbia (28.3%), Bosnia-Herzegovina (11.2%), Slovenia (10.9%), Czechia (4.4%), Luxembourg (4.2%), and Kosovo (3.9%), with imports coming chiefly from Serbia (17.4%), Germany (9.7%), Greece (6.4%), Italy (6.1%), and Croatia (5.9%). Montenegro and the EU signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), which is expected to ultimately lead Montenegro to become a member of the EU.

The country has a structural trade deficit: in 2023, Montenegro exported USD 679 million worth of goods against USD 4.1 billion in imports (-8.5% and +11.1%, respectively); whereas exports of services (at USD 3 billion, led by tourism revenues) were higher than imports (USD 1.1 billion – data WTO). In the same year, the trade deficit was estimated at 18.6% of the GDP (from 22.8% one year earlier - data World Bank). According to preliminary figures from Monstat, Montenegro's total external trade in goods for January–December 2024 reached EUR 4,692.8 million, up 4.6% from the same period in 2023. Exports totalled EUR 615.0 million (down 8.8%), while imports stood at EUR 4,077.7 million (up 7.0%).