This improvement reflects a 15.5 per cent reduction in total imports, which amounted to €7.58 billion in the first eight months of 2024, down from €8.97 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.

In August 2024 alone, imports saw a substantial decline of 23.7 per cent, totaling €948.6 million compared to €1.24 billion in August 2023.Imports from EU member states reached €564.8m, while those from third countries amounted to €383.8m, down from €692.4m and €550.7m, respectively, in August 2023. Notably, imports related to the economic ownership of ships and aircraft were valued at €38.8m in August, a sharp drop from €246.7m in the same month last year.

Exports also declined in August 2024, falling by 34.6 per cent to €276.4m from €422.8m in August 2023. Exports to EU countries amounted to €7m, while exports to third countries totaled €206.4m, down from €79.1m and €343.7m, respectively, in August 2023.

For the January-August 2024 period, total exports decreased by 9 per cent, reaching €2.59bl compared to €2.85bl during the same period in 2023.