Croatian commodity exports in the first eight months of this year, expressed in kuna, increased by 3.3 percent, while imports rose by 3.6 percent, according to the second preliminary data released on Tuesday by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), which revised its initial estimates that indicated an increase in exports and imports of 2.8 and 2.13 percent, respectively.
According to the latest data, Croatian commodity exports in the first eight months of this year amounted to more than 58 billion kuna, which is 3.3 percent higher compared to the same period last year, while imports simultaneously exceeded 96.2 billion kuna, which is 3.6 percent more than a year earlier.
Croatia’s foreign trade deficit for the first eight months of this year stands at 38.13 billion kuna, which is nearly 1.5 billion kuna or 4 percent higher than in the first eight months of 2015. The coverage of imports by exports in the first eight months of this year was 60.4 percent, slightly lower than 60.5 percent from the same period last year.
Expressed in euros, Croatian commodity exports from the beginning of the year to the end of August amounted to 7.7 billion euros, or 4.4 percent more than in the same period last year, while imports reached 12.75 billion euros, or 4.7 percent higher. Thus, the foreign trade deficit in the first eight months amounted to 5.05 billion euros, which is an increase of 248.4 million euros compared to last year, or just over 5 percent.
The most important market for Croatian products during this period was the European Union, where goods worth 5.17 billion euros were exported, or 4.3 percent more than in the first seven months of last year. Imports from other EU member states simultaneously grew by 5.6 percent, to over 10 billion euros.
Exports to CEFTA countries, on the other hand, amounted to 1.28 billion euros in the first eight months of this year, which is 2.2 percent lower than last year, while imports from these countries increased by 11.9 percent, to nearly 733 million euros.
Individually, Croatia’s most significant foreign trade partners remain Germany, Italy, and Slovenia.
In Germany, goods worth 933.8 million euros were exported in the first eight months of this year, which is 12.2 percent more than a year earlier, while imports amounted to 2.07 billion euros, or 10.2 percent more. In Italy, exports were worth over 1.04 billion euros, or 4.7 percent more, while commodity imports from that country increased by 2.3 percent, to 1.65 billion euros. At the same time, exports to Slovenia increased by 5.1 percent, to 959 million euros, while imports amounted to 1.4 billion euros, or 10.2 percent more than last year.
Outside the EU, Croatia exported the most, valued at 718.7 million euros or 1.7 percent less than last year, to Bosnia and Herzegovina, while exports to Serbia amounted to just under 323 million euros and were 2.3 percent lower than in the same period last year. Imports from Bosnia and Herzegovina simultaneously increased by 12.7 percent, to 360.2 million euros, and from Serbia by 11.5 percent, to 309.8 million euros.
When viewed by sectors, among those with significant shares in total commodity exports, the pharmaceutical industry achieved the highest percentage increase in commodity exports during the observed period – by 47 percent, to 496.3 million euros, while exports in the production of finished metal products, excluding machinery and equipment, also significantly increased by 22.5 percent, to 611.7 million euros. A noticeable increase in exports, by 20.5 percent, is also recorded in the production of rubber and plastic products and in the production of computers and electronic and optical products, to 239 and 265.8 million euros, respectively, while the food industry grew by 20.4 percent, to 686 million euros.
On the other hand, a significant decline in exports was recorded in the production of petroleum products, by 30 percent, to 394.6 million euros, as well as in the production of other means of transport, under which official statistics include shipbuilding, whose exports decreased by 17.3 percent, to 210.6 million euros.
