In December 2025, Bulgaria’s total exports of goods rose by 2.5% YoY, reaching 6.7364 billion leva (EUR 3.44 billion), after a contraction of 4% in November 2025. Meanwhile, imports into the country surged by 17.3%, to 9.6455 billion leva (EUR 4.93 billion), following a 5.2% increase in November 2025.
This sharp increase in imports pushed Bulgaria’s trade deficit to a record 2.9091 billion leva (EUR 1.49 billion) in December 2025, according to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
For the full year 2025, Bulgarian exports of goods fell by 3.2%, to 83.8945 billion leva (EUR 42.87 billion) compared to 2024, while imports rose by 6.1%, to 105.6051 billion leva (EUR 53.97 billion). This resulted in a total foreign trade deficit of 21.7106 billion leva (EUR 11.10 billion) for the period January-December 2025.
Looking at trade by region, exports from Bulgaria to other EU countries increased in December 2025 by 6.5%. Exports to third countries, however, declined by 3.7%. On the import side, purchases from the EU rose by 7.9%, while imports from third countries jumped sharply by 30.7%.
For the entire 2025, exports to the EU fell by 3.8% compared to 2024, and exports to non-EU countries dropped by 2.2%. Conversely, imports from EU countries increased by 4.4%, and imports from third countries rose by 8.5%. (Novinite)