Due to the economic crisis and decline in traffic in Croatia, turning to new markets is a logical step for wood processing companies. The Russian market is large and demanding, but it offers great opportunities. Croatia has furniture that can be competitive, and Russia has traditionally been inclined towards Croatian furniture and Slavonian oak.
Rajko Ružička, Assistant Director of the Agriculture, Food Industry and Forestry Sector, stated this at the opening of the International Furniture Fair ‘MEBEL 2010’ in Moscow, where Croatian entrepreneurs generated significant interest on the very first day. The Croatian stand was also visited by the Croatian Ambassador to Moscow, Nebojša Koharović, and the Director of the HGK Representation in Moscow, Ivica Budanec. Ružička emphasized that for several years now, we have been achieving a foreign trade surplus through the export of wood, wood products, and furniture, which amounted to 100 million dollars in 2009. Comparing the first eight months of this year with the same period last year, exports increased by 11 percent, while imports decreased by 20 percent, resulting in an increase in the foreign trade surplus of almost four times, amounting to 176 million dollars. – For many years, we have achieved a foreign trade surplus through the export of wood and wood products, while we had a deficit in furniture exports – said Ružička, adding that this year, with increased furniture exports (13 percent compared to 2009) and decreased furniture imports (21 percent), the foreign trade deficit was reduced from 76 million dollars to just two million dollars, indicating positive trends in the foreign trade balance of furniture. In the first eight months of 2010, furniture worth almost 200 million dollars was exported, concluded Ružička.
