Pharmaceutical products are the shining star of Slovenia’s exports. The list of the best national exporters published in business daily Finance in September is topped by two pharma companies, Krka and Lek. The high importance of the pharma industry for Slovenia’s exports is confirmed by overall figures. Statistic figures show that pharma products and preparations make up 40 percent of the nation’s exports: that is 25 billion out of 61,5 billion euros, the total value of Slovenia’s exports in 2024. While goods in transit, particularly through Ljubljana's airport (a key European pharma logistics hub), make up a large portion of the overall export value, domestically produced pharmaceuticals still represent over 3 billion euros annually.

Slovenia’s top exporters include companies like home appliances and electronics company Gorenje, a part of Chinese Hisense group, aluminium company Impol, motorhome producer Adria Mobil, BSH Nazarje, small appliances producer and part of Bosch Siemens Group, and Revoz, French carmaker Renault’s plant in Novo mesto.

The backbone of Slovenia’s exports, however, are SMEs, often niche leaders with a strong focus on research and development, top-tier quality, and continuous innovation. In fact, one in seven Slovenian companies generates more revenue abroad than domestically. The importance of SMEs for exports is also reflected in the newspaper Finance’s choice of the Exporter of the year. This year’s award went to SME Sensum, the global tech leader in automatic visual inspection for the pharma industry.

Many of these innovative SMEs belong to the automotive branch, another key sector for Slovenia’s exports. The automotive branch is in fact the largest Slovenian exporting industry – if we exclude goods in transit from the statistics. Very few cars roll out of the European plants without components produced – if not also developed – in Slovenia. Strong integration within the European automotive supply chain now poses a challenge as European carmakers face new tariffs and the growing dominance of Chinese electric vehicles.

The vulnerable situation of Slovenia's exporters is already evident in the available data. The value of exports of goods fell by 0.2 percent in the first seven months. Nevertheless, the overall figures remain strong. The growth rate in the last two decades has been quite impressive with exports more than six times higher in 2024 than in 2000. According to UNCTAD’s figures for 2023, Slovenia is firmly among the 10 nations with the largest exports of merchandise per capita. The exports have been a key driver of Slovenia’s economic success. And there chances are strong that the nation's exporting industry, characterized by its adaptable structure, inherent flexibility, and a consistent emphasis on innovation, is well-positioned to maintain its crucial role.