Serbia’s economy is increasingly shaped by industrial manufacturing, deeply integrated into European production networks. According to recent macroeconomic assessments, Serbia’s total foreign trade turnover reached €74.927 billion in 2025, marking a 7.7% increase from the previous year. The growth in foreign trade reflects the resilience of Serbia’s export-oriented manufacturing base, even amidst a slowdown in industrial growth and energy sector disruptions.
Exports outpaced imports, with total exports reaching €33.068 billion, representing an 8.4% increase, while imports amounted to €41.859 billion, a rise of 7.2%. This resulted in a trade deficit of €8.791 billion, slightly higher than the previous year but showing an improvement in the coverage of imports by exports—79% in 2025 compared to 78.1% in 2024.
A significant feature of Serbia’s economy is that export growth is largely driven by a limited number of industrial sectors embedded within European supply chains. Manufacturing comprised 87.6% of total exports, underscoring its dominance in international trade. The manufacturing sector itself saw exports increase by 8.7%, with a notable acceleration to 13% year-on-year in December.
The automotive industry emerged as the leading contributor to Serbia’s export growth, accounting for €4.057 billion in exports or 12.3% of total exports. Cumulative export growth for this sector was impressive at 32.5% throughout the year, with December alone witnessing an extraordinary increase of 103.5%. This surge is attributed to the launch of the electric Fiat Grande Panda model produced at the Kragujevac factory, positioning Serbia as a key player in Europe’s electric vehicle supply chain.
Germany remains the top destination for Serbian automotive exports, receiving 30.5%, followed by Italy at 14% and Hungary at 9.5%. Nearly half of automotive sector exports consist of electrical equipment for motor vehicles, highlighting a technological shift towards advanced components for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The rubber and plastics industry stands as another crucial export engine for Serbia, supplying intermediate goods to various sectors across Europe, including automotive and construction industries. In 2025, exports from this sector increased by €405.5 million, contributing approximately 17.5% to the overall rise in manufacturing exports and generating a trade surplus of €1.098 billion.
Production within the rubber and plastics sector expanded significantly by 16.6%, with Germany accounting for 12.6% of its exports and the United States at 9.5%. Tires dominate this sector’s exports, comprising about 44%. However, regulatory challenges arose when the U.S. imposed restrictions on tire imports from the Linglong factory due to labor condition concerns.
Several other industries also contributed to Serbia’s export growth in 2025, with six sectors recording increases exceeding €100 million each. These included food products (€235.1 million), machinery and equipment (€173.8 million), pharmaceuticals (€172.2 million), basic metals (€137.8 million), chemicals (€121.8 million), and computers and electronics (€110.2 million).
Conversely, some sectors experienced declines in export performance during the same period, notably electrical equipment (-€166.9 million), coke and petroleum products (-€66.4 million), wearing apparel (-€65.2 million), and leather goods (-€10.1 million). The decline in petroleum product exports is particularly noteworthy due to operational disruptions at the Pančevo refinery linked to sanctions risks surrounding its ownership structure.
Trade dynamics indicate that EU countries remain Serbia’s primary trading partners, constituting 63.8% of total foreign trade in 2025. Germany leads as Serbia’s largest trading partner with a share of 13.3%, although this has decreased from 14.1%. China has moved into second place with an increased share from 10% to 11.1%, reflecting its growing importance as an import source while slightly decreasing its share of Serbian exports.
Italy continues to be a significant market for Serbian goods, particularly passenger cars valued at €547 million and footwear at €123 million. Turkey has also gained prominence as Serbia’s fifth-largest trade partner.
By December 2025, Serbia’s monthly export capacity surpassed €2.8 billion for the first time, demonstrating an upward trend in industrial export capacity over the past decade driven by foreign investment and integration into European supply chains.
Despite these achievements, concerns linger over the sustainability of Serbia’s current export model due to heavy reliance on a few industries like automotive production and rubber manufacturing for growth momentum. Additionally, much of Serbia’s manufacturing activity remains concentrated in sectors characterized by medium technological complexity rather than high-value research and development.
While Serbia’s export performance reflects resilience amid global uncertainties and slowing European growth, it faces ongoing challenges regarding diversification of its export base and enhancement of technological capabilities within its manufacturing industries.
