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Exports of services rose 2.4% year-on-year in euro terms, while imports decreased by 3.4%. The value of exports reached EUR 9 bln (HUF 3.6 tln) and imports EUR 5.9 bln (HUF 2.4 tln). Compared with the previous quarter, exports increased by 15% and imports by 4.6%, generating an additional EUR 896 mln surplus.
The main contributors to the positive balance were travel services with EUR 992 mln, transport with EUR 871 mln, and business services with EUR 653 mln. Business services represented the largest share of trade, accounting for 43% of total exports and 54% of imports. Transport services made up 26% of exports and 25% of imports, while travel contributed 22% of exports and 17% of imports.
KSH said the surplus growth was largely driven by business services, which improved the balance by EUR 311 mln compared with a year earlier, and by travel, which added EUR 83 mln.
Trade with EU member states continued to dominate, making up 64% of Hungary’s service exports and 73% of imports. The surplus in this group of countries stood at EUR 1.4 bln, up by 25% or EUR 286 mln year-on-year, thanks primarily to a EUR 435 mln improvement with Germany. However, balances with Italy, Ireland and Malta all weakened by EUR 45 mln, EUR 38 mln and EUR 37 mln, respectively.
Outside the EU, Hungary’s surplus widened by EUR 136 mln, or 8.9%, led by gains with the United Kingdom (EUR 68 mln) and the United States (EUR 45 mln). Germany remained Hungary’s largest trading partner overall, accounting for 20% of service turnover. The United States ranked second with 8.1%, followed by Austria at 7.8%.
In the first half of 2025, the value of exports totaled EUR 17 bln (HUF 6.8 tln), while imports reached EUR 11 bln (HUF 4.6 tln). Compared with the same period of 2024, exports slipped by 0.5% and imports by 3.0%. As a result, the surplus improved by EUR 281 mln to EUR 6 bln in January–June.
KSH noted that the stronger balance in services is playing an increasingly important role in offsetting volatility in the trade of goods, particularly as Hungary navigates slowing industrial output and ongoing challenges in global supply chains.
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