“In November, Lithuania reached the smallest foreign trade deficit in the entire period of available statistics [from the beginning of 1999]. Minus 45 million litas (EUR 13m) is a very small figure. That export boom and certain weakness of domestic market resulted in an unprecedented phenomenon – Lithuania came close to a balanced foreign trade figure,” Tauraitė told BNS speaking about the latest foreign trade data.
In November compared with October, the country’s exports shrank by 4.5 percent, to 7.739 billion litas, and imports went down by 7 percent, to 7.785 billion litas, which brought the deficit to 45.4 million litas.
“Of course, it is not very sustainable. Lithuania is a small economy and there are plenty of goods, which we do not produce internally and which we are forced to import. It would be an interesting occurence if the deficit was small in December as well, but it would probably not stay at such levels any longer,” Tauraitė added.
Lithuania’s exports rose by an annual 14.1 percent between January and November, to 72.521 billion litas (EUR 21b), and its imports went up by 9.2 percent, to 78.987 billion litas, Statistics Lithuania reported earlier on Wednesday. The country’s eleven-month foreign trade deficit narrowed by 26.3 percent, year-on-year, to 6.466 billion litas, according to non-final data based on customs declarations and Intrastat reports.