BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The European Union's trade balance recorded a surplus of 147 billion euros in 2024, marking a significant increase of 113 billion euros from the 34 billion euros surplus seen in 2023, according to Eurostat data, Trend reports.
This trade surplus trend has been consistent since 2014, with the exception of 2022, when high energy prices caused a large deficit. In all other years, surpluses in sectors such as machinery, vehicles, and chemicals outweighed the deficits caused by energy imports.
The chemicals and related products sector saw the largest growth over the past decade, with the surplus doubling from 119.1 billion euros in 2014 to 238.1 billion euros in 2024. The food and drink balance also showed notable improvement, increasing from 33.5 billion euros to 52.4 billion euros during the same period.
However, other manufactured goods shifted from a 35.3 billion euro surplus in 2014 to an 11.2 billion euro deficit in 2024. In terms of imports, the EU saw a 3.4% decrease compared to 2023, following a more significant drop of 16.1% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Exports showed a slight increase of 1.1% in 2024, recovering from a 0.5% decline in 2023. The rebound in trade activity in 2021, driven by the lifting of pandemic restrictions, saw both imports and exports surge, with imports rising 23.8% and exports growing by 12.9%. In 2022, growth in both imports (+41.6%) and exports (+17.9%) was largely driven by rising prices.