Despite slow economic growth in the eurozone—0.4% in 2023 and 0.9% in 2024, with Germany even contracting—Serbia’s exports of goods continued to grow, rising 3.7% in 2023 and accelerating to 6.5% in 2024. In the second half of 2024, export growth reached 10.2% year-on-year.
Aleksandar Tomin, Assistant Director General for Macroeconomic Analysis at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), highlighted that the manufacturing industry has been the backbone of export resilience. Over the past decade, excluding the pandemic year, manufacturing consistently recorded production and export growth, largely supported by nearly €10 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI), accounting for about 30% of total FDI in Serbia. Strategic project and geographic distribution of investments helped expand the export base across multiple manufacturing sectors.
In 2023–2024, 16 out of 23 manufacturing sectors recorded export growth, increasing to 19 sectors in the first half of 2025. Key sectors benefiting from FDI included motor vehicles, rubber and plastic products, basic metals, metal products, and the food industry.
- Motor vehicles: Export growth of 6% in 2024 accelerated to 15.6% in the first half of 2025, with production rising nearly 20%, driven by the start of serial production at Stellantis.
- Rubber and plastics: Exports grew 11.7% in 2024 and 21% in the first half of 2025, with production growth close to 20%.
Overall, in 2024, almost 80% (€1.6 billion of €2 billion) of the increase in processing industry exports came from these five sectors; in the first half of 2025, about 70% (€1 billion of €1.5 billion) of export growth came from the same sectors.
A recent revision by the Republic Bureau of Statistics confirmed the stronger performance of Serbian exports. Manufacturing exports in 2024 grew by 8% (€2 billion) rather than the previously reported 2.7% (€700 million). Most of the revision (93%) was due to motor vehicles, electrical equipment, other machinery, rubber and plastics, and metal products.
The auto cluster alone—including parts, tires, batteries, and cars—exported €3.8 billion in 2024, with €3.9 billion including cars. The cluster grew by €365 million in 2024 and €433 million in the first six months of 2025, demonstrating resilience despite global automotive industry challenges.
Tomin emphasized that macroeconomic stability, predictability, and a favorable investment environment were key to sustaining export growth despite low external demand.
