“Proactive economic diplomacy and expanding the network of diplomatic missions have helped Lithuania to diversify trade and increase economic resilience. The total exports of Lithuanian origin products to ten Indo-Pacific countries more than four times exceeded the volume of exports to China in the first half of 2021, and is the best proof that our efforts work,” says the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.
According to the Department of Statistics (Lithuania), exports of goods of Lithuanian origin reached EUR 12.7 billion between January and June 2022, and increased by 31.1 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2021. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s total exports increased by 27.4 % over the same period and reached EUR 20 billion.
The trend in exports to the Indo-Pacific is particularly encouraging. Goods of Lithuanian origin were actively imported by Singapore (EUR 146 million, + 160.1 %), Australia (EUR 79.7 million, + 109.6 %), South Korea (EUR 55 million, + 48 %), and Indonesia (EUR 8.7 million, + 84.2 %). We also see positive dynamics in the export of Lithuanian-origin goods to Taiwan (EUR 11.5 million, + 30 %).
Total exports of Lithuanian-origin goods to the ten Indo-Pacific countries (Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand) increased by 60.4 % in the first half of 2022 (from EUR 249 million to EUR 400 million respectively) and already more than four times exceeds the volume of exports to China between January and June of the last year. Every year Lithuanian business exports to the 10 Indo-Pacific countries amount to at least 63 % more than their exports to China, although the GDP of these ten countries put together is below China’s GDP. Total exports to these 10 Indo-Pacific countries increased by 56.5 per cent in the first half of this year compared to 2021 (from EUR 297.6 million to EUR 456.7 million). Exports to China decreased by almost 87 % in the first half of 2022, amounting to EUR 11.8 million.
Germany, Poland, and the U.S. remained the leading destinations of exports of Lithuanian origin goods (exports increased by 27, 5, 76, 1, and 1.5 per cent, respectively). It is worth noting that the most significant quantitative leap in trade with the United States was achieved in 2021, when exports of Lithuanian origin goods grew by 75.4 per cent compared to 2020 (from EUR 1.1 billion to EUR 1.95 billion), and total exports grew by 72 % (from EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 2.2 billion).
The main ten markets for Lithuania's exports are topped by Latvia (+ 60 %), Sweden (+ 28 %), the Netherlands (+ 28 %), and the United Kingdom (+ 24.2 %). Estonia was the eighth leading destination of exports of Lithuanian origin goods. It is exceptional because exports of goods of Lithuanian origin increased by 99 % to this country. Estonia is followed by Norway (+ 6.8 %) and Denmark (+ 28.4 %).
