Commenting on preliminary foreign trade data from October 2015, Deputy State Secretary for Enterprise Relations Zoltán István Marczinkó said that Hungary’s foreign trade sector may post a record-high surplus of EUR 7.5-8bn this year.

According to preliminary data compiled by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the sector’s surplus in the period January-October 2015 totalled EUR 6 765bn, which is EUR 491 million more than the full-year figure of EUR 6 274 in 2014. In Euro terms, the volume of exports and imports rose by 7.4 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, compared to January-October 2014. In the month of October 2015, exports and imports were up by 8.4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, year-on-year. In the observed period, foreign trade surplus was EUR 603 million, up by EUR 320 million, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Zoltán István Marczinkó was upbeat about the data and pointed out that exports were mainly driven by the manufacturing factor, within that by food, pharmaceuticals, plastics and rubber product manufacturing as well as by the motor vehicle sectors. He stressed that recently completed development projects and new jobs have also contributed to the performance of the foreign trade sector.

He added that he was not expecting imports to fall in the coming two months, due to the traditionally higher consumption in Christmas season.

(Ministry for National Economy)