Bulgarian exports to Germany decrease by 19.4% in June 2025

New data published by the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations reveals a worrying trend for Bulgarian exports to Germany in recent months. According to the analysis, in June 2025, Bulgaria's exports to Germany marked a significant decline of 19.4% year-on-year, reaching 499 million euros compared to 620 million euros in the same period of the previous year.

This negative dynamic puts Bulgaria in second place among Eastern European countries with the largest annual decline in exports to Germany. Only Belarus registered a more serious decrease of over 72%, while Russia ranks after Bulgaria with a decrease of 17.3%.

However, imports from Germany to Bulgaria for June show an increase of 6.9%, reaching 525 million euros compared to 491 million euros a year earlier. The total trade turnover between the two countries during the month amounts to 1.024 billion euros, which represents a decrease of 7.8% compared to June 2024, when it was 1.111 billion euros.

For the first half of 2025, an even more pronounced trend is observed. Bulgarian exports to Germany decreased by 10.5% year-on-year to 3.012 billion euros, while German exports to Bulgaria increased by 2.3% to 3.035 billion euros. The total bilateral trade turnover for the six-month period fell by 4.5% to 6.048 billion euros.

Despite these challenges in trade relations with Bulgaria, the German export industry continues to see great potential in trade with Eastern and Southeastern Europe as a whole. Business with Poland is developing particularly well, which has become Germany's fifth most important trading partner, immediately after France.

Katrina Klaas-Mühlhauser, Chair of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, commented on the situation, stating: "After the EU enlargement in 2004, Germany and Poland wrote a success story. The lesson is that we must continue to solve bilateral problems calmly and develop the EU in close cooperation".

Interestingly, Germany's trade with Ukraine shows significant growth, with German exports increasing by 30% to 4.6 billion euros in the first half of the year. Klaas-Mühlhauser emphasized the importance of supporting and rebuilding Ukraine as key tasks for European policy and business.

Despite the overall decline in German exports by 0.1% to 786 billion euros for the first half of the year, exports to the 29 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia increased by 2.2% to 144 billion euros.

These data highlight the complex and dynamic picture of trade relations between Germany and Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria. While some countries like Poland and Ukraine show positive trends, Bulgaria faces challenges in its exports to Germany. This raises questions about the need for strategic measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy and diversify export markets.