The European Union posted a €23 billion trade surplus in high-tech products in 2024, returning to positive territory after a €15 billion deficit the year before and four consecutive years in the red, Eurostat data showed on Wednesday.

Cyprus, meanwhile, recorded a 10 per cent drop in such imports to just over €5 billion.

EU imports of high-tech goods stood at €478bn, edging down 0.2 per cent from 2023, while exports rose 8.1 per cent to €501bn, pushing the bloc back into surplus for the first time since 2019. 

China and the United States remained by far the largest suppliers, together accounting for more than half of all EU imports.  

China shipped €141bn worth of goods, or 30 per cent of the total, while the United States supplied €111bn, or 23 per cent. Switzerland and Taiwan followed with 6 per cent each, Vietnam with 5 per cent and the United Kingdom with 4 per cent. 

Electronics and telecommunications made up the largest share of EU imports at 36 per cent, with China the leading partner.  

Computers and office machines accounted for 18 per cent, while pharmaceuticals took a 15 per cent share, sourced mainly from the United States. 

Electronics dominated shipments from Vietnam, China and Taiwan, while pharmaceuticals were the main category from Switzerland.  

Aerospace, by contrast, led imports from both the United States and the United Kingdom. 

On the export side, pharmaceuticals drove EU sales abroad, representing a third of all high-tech exports.

The United States was the top destination with €156bn, or 31 per cent of the total, followed by China and the United Kingdom, each at around 10 per cent, and then Switzerland, Japan and Turkey.

Pharmaceuticals dominated exports to the United States, Switzerland and Japan.

At the same time, electronics were the largest category sent to China, while aerospace led shipments to the United Kingdom and Turkey.

Finally, in Cyprus, imports of high-tech products fell to €5.01bn in 2024 from €5.56bn in 2023.