In April 2025, Slovak foreign trade experienced a notable shift as exports recorded a year-on-year decline for the first time in seven months. Preliminary data from the national statistics office show that exports amounted to EUR 9 billion, representing a 0.3% decrease compared to April 2024. This marked the first decline since August of last year. Despite the downturn in exports, imports continued to grow, rising by 4.2% year-on-year and matching the export value at EUR 9 billion. As a result, the foreign trade balance recorded a marginal deficit of just EUR 273,000. This is the smallest gap between exports and imports ever recorded, indicating an almost balanced trade position for the month. The structure of exports revealed that only four out of ten key commodity sections posted year-on-year growth. The overall decline was primarily driven by a 2% drop in the “Machinery and transport equipment” category (SITC 7), which includes motor vehicles. This decline was partially offset by a 19% increase in the “Miscellaneous industrial products” category (SITC 8). On the import side, nine of the ten main product sections reported year-on-year growth. Imports of miscellaneous industrial products contributed significantly, with their value increasing by 15.5%. Machinery and transport equipment remained the dominant category in foreign trade, accounting for nearly 61% of exports and over 48% of imports in April. Trade with European Union countries continued to play a central role. Almost 78% of Slovakia’s exports and nearly 64% of its imports were with EU member states. However, exports to EU countries declined by just over 1% year-on-year, while imports from the EU rose by a similar margin. In contrast, exports to non-EU countries rose by more than 4%, with imports from those regions increasing by 10%. Slovakia posted a trade surplus of nearly EUR 1.3 billion with EU member states in April, offset by a nearly identical deficit in trade with non-EU countries. For the first four months of 2025, total exports reached EUR 36.7 billion, up 4.5% compared to the same period in 2024. Imports rose by 10.2% to EUR 36.4 billion, resulting in a cumulative trade surplus of EUR 299.9 million. By comparison, the trade surplus for the same period last year was close to EUR 2.1 billion. Revised data for the first quarter of 2025 show exports increased by 6.2% year-on-year to EUR 27.8 billion, while imports grew by 12.3% to EUR 27.5 billion. The trade balance for that period remained in surplus at EUR 300.2 million, though significantly lower than the EUR 1.7 billion surplus recorded in the first quarter of 2024. Source: Statistical Office of the SR