After already picking up in 2021 following a Covid-caused trade lull the year before, Slovenia's exports and imports of goods climbed by 34.2% and 36.6% in 2022 to reach €52.9 billion and €56.8 billion, respectively.

With imports having outpaced exports, the trade deficit widened to €3.9 billion from what had already been a ten-year record of €2.6 billion in 2021.

Slovenia has long had an export-oriented economy, with pharmaceutical products traditionally featuring among the key exports, and it is chemicals and related products that accounted for 34% of the exports in 2022.

While EU member states were the recipients of 61% of total exports, Switzerland overtook Germany as the biggest export market for Slovenian goods in 2022, accounting for 18%. Germany followed with 14.4%, Italy with 10.6%, Croatia accounted for 8.4%, Austria for 6.7% and France for 3.3%.

Assembled cars - by Renault's Novo mesto-based Revoz - and car parts are also among the key exports, with machinery and transport equipment coming second on the list of export categories, making for 26.7% of the total.

Manufactured goods accounted for 16.4%, "miscellaneous manufactured articles" for 8.2%, and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials for 8%.

These product sectors also contributed the most to imports, where chemicals and related products represented 31.9%, followed by machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

EU countries accounted for 61% of the imports, but Switzerland also climbed to the top of the imports list in 2022, with 14.6% of the total. Germany accounted for 12.5%, Italy for 11.5%, China for 8.9%, Austria for 8.4% and Croatia for 5%.