International trade in goods (change of ownership) - May 2026
The May trade surplus was positively affected by machinery and equipment
Publication Date: 07. 07. 2026
Product Code: 241018-26
The total balance of international trade1) in goods2) was favourably influenced mainly by y−o−y higher trade surplus in 'machinery and equipment' by CZK 5.1 bn y-o-y, in ’electrical equipment’ by CZK 1.1 bn and in ‘fabricated metal products’ by CZK 1.0 bn.
The total balance was affected negatively mainly by deepening of the trade deficit in 'coke and refined petroleum products' by CZK 4.8 bn, in ‘crude petroleum and natural gas’ by CZK 3.2 bn and in 'computer, electronic and optical products' by CZK 1.6 bn.
In May 2026, the positive trade balance with EU Member States increased by CZK 3.9 bn, y−o−y. The trade deficit with non-EU countries deepened by CZK 4.1 bn.
Y-o-y exports increased by 5.6% to CZK 415.6 bn and y-o-y imports by 6.0% to CZK 405.7 bn, while this May had one less working day than May 2025.
From January to May 2026, the trade balance reached a surplus of CZK 87.7 bn representing a y−o−y decrease of CZK 17.9 bn. Since the beginning of the year, exports have risen by 3.8% and imports by 5.0%.
“Imports grew year-on-year faster than exports also in May, although the gap in growth rates narrowed compared to the previous month. Trade in computers and electronic and optical equipment was the main driver of growth in both directions of international trade. Exports of machinery and equipment also rose significantly," says Zdeněk Skalák, Head of the Trade Balance Unit of the Czech Statistical Office.
Month-on-month, the seasonally adjusted exports increased by 1.4%, imports by 0.1%.
1) The international trade balance is the difference between exports from the Czech Republic and imports to the Czech Republic.
2) The international trade in goods (change of ownership) reflects export and import performance of the Czech economy, i.e. the international trade balance of the Czech Republic as well. It measures real trade in goods carried out between Czech entities and foreign ones, i.e. the change of ownership between residents and non-residents.
Notes
Methodological note:
From 2020 onwards, data for International trade in goods (change of ownership) are subject to recalculation using an updated method, based on a higher level of detail. See Update of the compilation method – International trade in goods (change of ownership).
Since March 2022, in accordance with the methodology of Eurostat, selected data for exports and imports of military equipment and weapons are for safety reasons included in other goods codes and another territorial structure so that the macroeconomic aggregate of international trade in goods is not influenced.
Notes:
Data for companies, which are subject to the reporting duty and which failed to report data (non-response), has been imputed according to exports and imports these companies reported in the previous period. Data for companies exempted from the reporting duty were estimated on the basis of the data given in the VAT return forms. The data, which were not available from the VAT return forms, are estimated on the basis of the values for previous periods.
Data for respective months of 2025 and 2026 is preliminary; data up to and including year 2024 is final.
When data for the reference month is published, six previous months are updated. All months with preliminary data are updated when data for January, March and July is published. Final data is published always in September of the following year.
Responsible head at the CZSO: Miluše Kavěnová, Director of International Trade Statistics Department, phone number (+420) 274 054 176,
Contact person: Zdeněk Skalák, Head of Trade Balance Unit,
Method of data collection: Intrastat forms and single administrative documents and value added tax return forms
End of data collection: 20th working day after the end of the reference month
Following data sets: https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/vzonu_ts
242002-26 External Trade of the Czech Republic
Next News Release will be published on: August 6, 2026
This press release was not edited for language.