Serbia’s services trade expanded in the first seven months of 2026, with stronger ICT and business-service exports accompanied by a faster increase in services imports. Services exports reached approximately €9.1 billion in January–July 2026, increasing 4.8% year on year, while imports rose 6.6% to about €7.9 billion, according to the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). The resulting services surplus declined 5.4% to €1.234 billion, or approximately €70.3 million below the level recorded a year earlier.
ICT and business services drive export receipts
ICT exports reached €2.756 billion, up 5.7%, while exports of other business services increased 8.2% to €2.382 billion. Together, the two categories accounted for more than half of Serbia’s total services-export receipts. Other business services added 2.1 percentage points to overall services-export growth, while ICT contributed 1.7 percentage points, according to the NBS. The figures cover broad categories and do not show that all software companies, engineering providers or professional-services firms experienced the same rate of expansion. Export receipts also do not directly indicate company profitability. Service providers can incur higher personnel expenses, payments to foreign subcontractors, software costs and other imported inputs.
Service companies face different models for international growth
For ICT companies, international expansion can involve more specialised services, deeper customer relationships or products capable of generating recurring revenue. Each model requires different investments and carries different commercial risks. Businesses that primarily sell employee time depend heavily on utilisation rates and the prices charged for individual staff. Product-based companies can have greater potential for scaling, but may face significant development and sales costs before achieving consistent revenue. National export figures do not determine which model is appropriate for an individual company.
Other business services also encompass a range of activities. Technical support, professional consulting and other internationally delivered services generate foreign revenue, while competitiveness depends on expertise, service quality and the ability to secure repeat business.
Travel spending drives services import growth
The increase in services imports has limited the improvement in Serbia’s external balance. Travel services accounted for 5.8 percentage points of overall services-import growth, while ICT and transport imports also contributed. Lower imports of other business services partly offset those increases. Travel-service imports broadly represent spending by Serbian residents abroad within the balance-of-payments framework. Their increase is a separate source of demand affecting the services account and does not directly indicate weaker performance by domestic ICT or professional-services exporters.
The monthly data illustrate the effect. Serbia recorded a services surplus of €84.6 million in July 2025, but the balance shifted to a deficit of approximately €69.8 million in July 2026. The NBS identified higher travel-service imports as the main factor behind the deterioration.
Service exports remain geographically diversified
The July result reflects seasonal travel patterns and does not represent the cumulative position for the year, which remained in surplus. The services account is therefore affected by both the performance of exporters and spending by Serbian residents on services abroad. For the first half of 2026, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom were the main destinations for Serbian services exports, according to the NBS. Those figures cover January–June, rather than the seven-month period used for the broader services-trade totals.
Service providers consequently operate across markets with different business cycles, procurement systems and currencies. Customer diversification is also relevant alongside geographic diversification. Several contracts in one country can involve different industries, while geographically dispersed contracts can remain exposed to the same sector if their customers share similar demand conditions.
Export growth and the external balance remain separate measures
The conditions supporting higher-value services exports include skills, reliable infrastructure and stronger commercial capabilities. These factors can support exporters but do not ensure that Serbia’s net services earnings increase every year. Serbian ICT and business-service companies generated higher export receipts in January–July 2026, while faster growth in services imports reduced the overall surplus to €1.234 billion.
