After a very weak start to the year, BH. In May, the dedicated industry recorded a strong recovery in exports, and among the largest buyers of domestic weapons and ammunition, a new large market appeared – the Netherlands. BiznisInfo.ba.
The export of arms and ammunition in May of this year amounted to 55.6 million KM, which is by far the best monthly result since the beginning of the year. The total export of arms and ammunition in the first five months of 2026 reached 134.1 million KM. In addition, other similar products such as explosives and pyrotechnics were exported for 46.6 million KM.
Maj changed the picture
Let us remind you that after the first four months of the year, the situation looked much worse. The export of weapons and ammunition from January to April amounted to only 78.5 million KM, which represented a drop of even 57.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
However, during May alone, goods worth 55.6 million KM were exported, which significantly improved the overall result.
Although exports in the first five months still lagged behind last year’s record levels, the decline eased to around 40 percent, showing that the sector picked up strong momentum in May.
The Netherlands emerged among the biggest buyers
The structure of exports by country is particularly interesting. The biggest customer BH. of weapons and ammunition in the first five months, the Czech Republic remained with 46.2 million KM, which is not a surprise considering that this country has been among the leading markets for products of the domestic dedicated industry for a long time.
The real surprise is represented by the Netherlands, which came in second place with as much as 34.4 million KM in imports. Considering that this country was not among the leading buyers of BiH after the first four months of the year. weapons and ammunition, it can be concluded that the largest part, if not the entire export to the Netherlands, was realized during May.
They are followed by: Germany – 10.2 million KM, Poland – 9.7 million KM, United States of America – 8.3 million KM, Iraq – 6.1 million KM, Turkey – 4.2 million KM.
The data show that it was the Netherlands that played a key role in the strong growth of exports during May.
The European market is increasingly important
Another interesting fact is that European countries and members of the NATO alliance dominate among the largest buyers. In addition to the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, Germany and Poland are among the leading markets, which confirms that BiH. dedicated industry is increasingly integrating into European supply chains of military equipment and ammunition.
Such a trend was especially pronounced after the start of the war in Ukraine, when the European demand for ammunition and military equipment increased significantly.
Expectations for the continuation of the year
It remains to be seen whether the May result is a consequence of the realization of one or more large contracts or represents the beginning of a more stable recovery of the sector after a weak start to the year.
In any case, the data show that May brought a strong turn for BiH. dedicated industry and opened up the possibility to significantly reduce the backlog of record export results from 2025 by the end of the year.
