Montenegro recorded a merchandise trade deficit of approximately €2.3 billion during the first six months of 2026, exposing the continuing weakness of the country’s domestic production and export base.
Goods exports declined by 4.4% compared with the same period of the previous year, while imports increased by 3.4%. Export revenue covered only 12% of the import bill, representing a further deterioration in one of Montenegro’s most persistent macroeconomic imbalances.
The deficit widened despite electricity imports falling by around 60% from the previous year. Energy purchases had been unusually high in 2025 because of the prolonged outage and reconstruction of the Pljevlja thermal power plant.
Food imports reached approximately €460 million in only six months. The figure illustrates the limited ability of domestic agriculture and food processing to supply a tourism-intensive economy whose population and consumption rise sharply during the summer.
Montenegro partly offsets its goods deficit through tourism receipts, transport services, foreign investment and remittances. However, a substantial part of tourism-generated demand is directed towards imported food, beverages, equipment, vehicles and construction materials. This reduces the domestic multiplier from an otherwise strong visitor season.
A trade deficit of this scale also increases exposure to imported inflation. Rising international commodity, transport or fuel prices can move quickly into consumer prices because domestic producers have limited capacity to replace foreign goods.
The figures do not point to an immediate external financing crisis, given Montenegro’s use of the euro and continued inflows from tourism and real estate. They do show that headline growth remains heavily dependent on consumption financed by service exports, foreign capital and imports rather than on an expanding merchandise-export sector.
