Montenegro’s 2025 foreign-trade figures show total trade grew 7.2% year on year, driven almost entirely by imports. The pattern highlights the gap between domestic demand and the country’s small goods-export base.
Imports rose 9.3% in 2025, while goods exports fell 6.9%. Montenegro buys consumer goods, equipment, vehicles and construction materials from abroad, while its goods exports remain concentrated in mineral fuels and electricity, leaving exports exposed to energy conditions and a limited number of products.
Goods exports amounted to 7.2% of GDP in 2025, compared with services exports of around 33% of GDP. Montenegro therefore depends more on tourism and other services than industrial exports to finance imports.
The European Union was Montenegro’s biggest goods-trade partner, taking 32.5% of exports and supplying 43.3% of imports. CEFTA markets accounted for a larger share of exports, at 46.8%, but 27.3% of imports.
Montenegro’s EU accession will remove some remaining trade barriers and deepen integration, while exposing companies to stronger competition. A key question is whether firms can use access to the EU market to move beyond a small regional export base and enter larger European supply chains.
Narrowing the gap between goods bought and sold will require reliable infrastructure, faster customs and digital procedures, productive investment, better skills and competitively priced energy. Market access can open opportunities, but domestic productivity will determine whether Montenegrin companies can use them.
