Transformations  in
Business & Economics

The Changes of Lithuanian SME Foreign Trade
Dalia Bernatonytė, Žaneta Simanavičienė, Gražina Startienė

ABSTRACT. This paper analyses the role of small and medium-sized enterprises foreign trade in Lithuanian economy in the context of EU integration. Lithuania is a small open market, thus its economy largely depends on foreign trade. SME play the main role in Lithuanian foreign trade.

The aim of this research is to analyze changes of Lithuanian SME foreign trade in the context of EU integration. Seeking for this aim, the following research tasks had to be accomplished:

• to analyze the basic theories of the gains from SME foreign trade;
• to analyze the role of SME sector in national economy and foreign trade;
• to perform nature, structure and changes of SME foreign trade in the context of the EU integration;
• to analyze regional peculiarities of SME foreign trade;
• to present improvement ways of SME foreign trade.

In the paper it is argued that seeking to solve problems of SME foreign trade improvement it is necessary to analyze the changes of export amount. Thus the main problems of export development and the ways of solving problems are determined.

KEYWORDS: small and medium enterprises (SME), foreign trade, export, import, regional peculiarities, Lithuania.

JEL classification: J11, R11, L 86, P2.