Exports Increased by 12.2 Percent in Seven Months

Croatian commodity exports in kuna increased by 12.2 percent in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, while imports simultaneously increased by 6.6 percent.

This resulted in an import coverage by exports reaching 61.1 percent, according to the second data published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

Compared to the initial results, the CBS revised the export growth rate upwards by 1.1 percentage points and the import growth rate by 1.2 percentage points. Compared to the results for the first six months, the growth rates of exports and imports remained stable – Croatian commodity exports in the first half of the year increased by 12.3 percent, and imports by 6.3 percent. According to CBS data, from January to the end of July, Croatia exported goods worth 50.2 billion kuna and imported goods worth 82.15 billion kuna.

Expressed in euros, Croatian commodity exports in the first seven months of this year amounted to 6.58 billion euros, which is 12.1 percent higher than in the same period last year, while imports increased by 6.5 percent to 10.7 billion euros. Expressed in kuna, the foreign trade deficit in the first seven months decreased by 1.1 percent compared to the same period last year, to 31.9 billion kuna, or by 1.2 percent when expressed in euros, to 4.18 billion euros.

The most important market for Croatian products is the European Union, which accounts for 67.3 percent of commodity exports. In the first seven months, goods worth 4.4 billion euros were exported to EU countries, which is 16.9 percent more compared to exports from the first seven months of 2014. At the same time, imports from EU countries increased by 10.5 percent to 8.4 billion euros. Exports to CEFTA countries in the first seven months fell by 2 percent to 1.14 billion euros, with a simultaneous increase in imports by 5.3 percent to 563.6 million euros.

Italy is Croatia’s largest foreign trade partner, to which goods worth 910.4 million euros were exported in the first seven months of this year, which is 5 percent more year-on-year, while imports of goods from that country increased by 2.7 percent to 1.46 billion euros. Exports to Slovenia increased by 21.2 percent to 807.3 million euros, while imports from that country increased by 5 percent to 1.14 billion euros. In terms of export value, Germany follows, to which goods worth 741.3 million euros were exported from Croatia in the first seven months, or 9.2 percent more, with a simultaneous increase in imports by 7.6 percent to 1.6 billion euros.

Among the sectors with significant export values, the highest percentage growth is recorded in shipbuilding, at 219.3 percent, to 239.5 million euros. The export of food products also increased by 15.2 percent to 496.2 million euros. Significant growth rates in exports are also recorded in the production of leather and related products at 31 percent, to 231.7 million euros, the export of basic pharmaceutical products increased by 33.1 percent to 303.9 million euros, and finished metal products by 25.7 percent to 450.5 million euros, etc. At the same time, a more pronounced decline in exports is recorded in the production of refined and petroleum products, by 16.1 percent to 487.7 million euros, and in metal production, by 22.7 percent to 187.4 million euros.