Vienna: The value of Austrian exports of goods saw a decrease of 3.1% to £94.17 billion in the first half of 2025. At the same time, imports of goods experienced an increase of 2.9%, reaching £97.46 billion, leading to a trade balance deficit of £3.29 billion.
According to Emirates News Agency, Austria's international trade maintained stability in the first half of 2025. Compared to the same period last year, the slight decrease in export values was mainly due to reduced trade with the USA and Switzerland. Conversely, Switzerland played a significant role in the rise of imports, marking the highest increase among trading partners at 74.4%, followed by China with a 13.0% increase.
In the period from January to June 2025, imports totaled £97.46 billion, whereas exports were valued at £94.17 billion. This represents a 2.9% rise in imports and a 3.1% drop in exports compared to the first half of the previous year. Consequently, the trade balance deficit widened to £3.29 billion, in contrast to a positive trade balance of £2.43 billion during the same period last year.
Among the ten most significant import partners, there were both increases and decreases in imports. Besides the notable rise with Switzerland, China and Germany also showed increases of 13.0% and 1.0%, respectively. Conversely, substantial declines were observed in imports from France and Poland. Export activity with the ten key partners, with exceptions like Italy and Czechia, generally saw declines, with the United States, Switzerland, and France exhibiting the most significant drops.
Trade with European Union member states resulted in imports worth £63.92 billion, a modest increase of 0.3%. Meanwhile, exports to EU countries showed a slight decrease of 1.2%, totaling £64.39 billion. This led to a positive trade balance of £0.48 billion with the EU, which was a decrease from the £1.47 billion surplus recorded in the first half of 2024.
International trade with non-EU countries demonstrated an increase in imports by 8.1% to £33.55 billion, while exports decreased by 6.9% to £29.78 billion compared to the same period last year.