Lithuania - Foreign trade



Lithuania depends heavily on trade, particularly with other republics of the former Soviet Union. In 2000, total imports were valued at $5.5 billion, and exports at $3.8 billion. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Lithuania was trading more with Western nations, and reducing its reliance on trade with former Soviet republics. Trade with the West increased from 15% to 60% between 1990 and 1995, while trade with former Soviet republics fell from 78% in 1990 to 40% in 1995. Since Lithuania's independence in 1990, growing disruptions in trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics have resulted in a steep decline in import volumes and numerous domestic shortages.

Refined petroleum products make up Lithuania's most beneficial export commodity (18%), followed by fertilizers(5.1%) and furniture (3.5%). Other export commodities include wood (2.9%), transistors (3.3%), and automobiles (2.7%).

In 2000 Lithuania's imports were distributed among the following categories:

Lithuania

Consumer goods 12.5%
Food 8.5%
Fuels 21.7%
Industrial supplies 30.3%
Machinery 14.6%
Transportation 9.3%
Other 3.1%

Principal trading partners in 2000 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:

Lithuania

COUNTRY EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE
Latvia 572 213 359
Germany 546 926 -380
United Kingdom 297 233 64
Russia 271 1,457 -1,186
Poland 208 343 -135
Denmark 186 229 -43
Netherlands 183 195 -12
Ukraine 168 78 90
France 167 164 3
Belarus 111 99 12
Also read article about Lithuania from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: