Slovenian July trade figures soar y/y as exports to China jump

LJUBLJANA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian exports of goods jumped by 24.8 percent year-on-year to 5.5 billion euros (6.09 billion U.S. dollars) in July, while imports were 34.5 percent higher reaching 5.1 billion euros, boosted by a growth of exports to China, the country's Statistical Office said on Wednesday.

According to the office's preliminary data, Slovenian exports to China increased by 5.5 percent year-on-year in July to 46.46 million euros while imports from China decreased by 8.1 percent to 499.8 million euros.

The big jump of exports and imports is partly due to operations involving processing which are mainly done with Switzerland and include modification, manufacture, assembly, improvement and redesign of imported goods.

"In the period from January to July ... the value of exports of goods was 9.6 percent higher than in the same period previous year. The value of imports of goods increased by 16.5 percent," the office said in a report.

It said July exports to other European Union (EU) states increased by 11.3 percent and represented 49.9 percent of total exports, while exports to non-EU countries jumped by 41.8 percent.

On the other hand, imports from non-EU countries increased by as much as 74 percent in July, with imports from the EU states up by 10.6 percent.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), top imports from China in July included cars, video displays, semiconductor devices, electric batteries and nitrogen heterocyclic compounds.

Top exports to China comprised of motor vehicles and their parts, electrical lighting and signalling equipment, unpackaged medicaments, electric heaters and reaction and catalytic products. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollar)