Serbia’s high-tech trade data show how far the country still has to go before it can call itself a serious technology-production platform. MAT reports that Serbia’s high-tech exports reached €1.44bn in 2025, while high-tech imports were €4.10bn. In trade with China, the imbalance is much sharper: Serbia exported only €17mn of high-tech products to China, while importing €1.34bn.
These figures reveal a structural dependency. Serbia consumes, imports and assembles technology more successfully than it exports technology-intensive goods. That is normal for a developing industrial economy, but the scale of the gap shows why technology policy cannot rely only on investment announcements.
The China imbalance is especially important. Imports from China include electronics, equipment, devices, machinery and high-tech manufactured goods. Serbian exports to China in high-tech categories are minimal. This means the relationship is still heavily one-sided in technology terms. Serbia buys Chinese technology far more than it sells technology back.
The challenge is to move from import dependence to production capability. That requires domestic engineering, supplier development, certification, testing laboratories, intellectual property, skilled labour, university-industry cooperation and access to export markets. A factory alone is not enough. Serbia needs an ecosystem.
The high-tech deficit also has macro implications. High-tech imports can support modernisation when they are used in factories, data centres, power systems and industrial upgrades. But a permanent deficit in higher-value products means Serbia remains dependent on external technology providers. The country captures less margin and remains exposed to foreign supply chains.
The right strategy is not to replace all imports. Serbia cannot and should not try to produce everything. The realistic goal is to identify niches where it can build competitive capacity: automotive electronics, EV components, industrial software, robotics applications, energy-management systems, testing services, specialised metal components and compliance technology.
The high-tech deficit is not a failure. It is a map of the upgrade challenge. Serbia now needs to turn investment agreements into exportable technology content, otherwise the country will continue importing the future while exporting too little of it.
