Croatian commodity exports expressed in kuna increased by 14.2% in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, while imports during the same period increased by 11.6%, according to other data released on Monday by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
DZS has thus revised its initial estimates upwards, according to which exports from the beginning of the year to the end of July had increased by 13.7%, and imports by 10.6%. According to the latest data, Croatia exported goods worth nearly 58.5 billion kuna to foreign markets during these seven months, while imports amounted to over 94.7 billion kuna.
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The trade deficit with foreign countries amounted to 36.27 billion kuna, while the coverage of imports by exports was at a level of 61.7%, 0.2 percentage points lower than in the first six months of this year.
Expressed in euros, Croatian commodity exports in the first seven months of this year grew by 15.7% to 7.8 billion euros, while imports increased by 13.2% to 12.7 billion euros, with the foreign trade deficit amounting to 4.86 billion euros.
In the pharmaceutical industry, growth of 40.2%
However, 87% of commodity imports relate to imports from the manufacturing industry, which increased by 10.7% compared to last year, to nearly 11.07 billion euros.
The manufacturing industry, which accounts for over 89% of commodity exports, exported goods worth nearly 7 billion euros to foreign markets in the first seven months of this year, which is 15.3% more than in the same period last year.
Within the manufacturing industry, the highest value export, amounting to 628.8 million euros, was achieved in the pharmaceutical industry, recording an increase of as much as 40.2% compared to the first seven months of last year. The food industry, on the other hand, exported goods worth 605.7 million euros during this period, or 0.3% more than last year, while exports of machinery and equipment grew by 10.5% to 557.8 million euros.
The largest imports in the food industry
At the same time, the largest imports, amounting to 1.14 billion euros, were recorded in the food industry, which increased by 10.4% compared to last year. Goods worth over one billion euros were also imported by the machinery and equipment sector, with an annual growth of 13.1%.
DZS data show that other EU member states remain the most important market for Croatian goods, as they account for 65% of total commodity exports and 78% of commodity imports in the first seven months of this year. The most important foreign trade partners of Croatia remain Italy, Germany, and Slovenia.
Exports to Italy, in fact, increased by 14.6% year-on-year to 1.08 billion euros by the end of July; exports to Germany amounted to 967.6 million euros, or 15.1% more than last year, and to Slovenia, 857.9 million euros, or 0.9% more than in the first seven months of 2016.
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At the same time, imports from Germany exceeded 2 billion euros and grew by 9.9% compared to last year; imports from Italy increased by 8.9% to 1.65 billion euros, and from Slovenia by 8% to 1.36 billion euros.
Significant growth in trade exchange in the first seven months of this year is also recorded by Croatia with CEFTA countries – exports to these countries increased by 19.5% to 1.33 billion euros, and imports by 19.4% to 766.9 million euros.
Among these countries, the highest export, amounting to 739.2 million euros or 19.9% more than last year, was recorded for Bosnia and Herzegovina, from which the largest import was also achieved, amounting to 396.17 million euros or 24.7% higher. Serbia follows, to which goods worth 366 million euros were exported, representing an annual increase of 29.4%, along with a simultaneous increase in imports from that country by 18% to 317.7 million euros.
