EXPORT DECLINE OF 10 PERCENT – In May, the value of exports was again a quarter lower than last year

The data that Croatian exports, according to the first results published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, were ten percent lower in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year does not sound so bad when the export results for April and May are viewed separately. As expected, the consequence of the lockdown in April was a decline in exports of 24.4 percent compared to the same month last year. Although in May Croatian exports increased by about fifty million euros compared to April, this was a decline of 26 percent compared to May last year.

Since exports are a significant component of gross domestic product, this decline will considerably affect the decline in GDP in the second quarter of this year, even more so due to the drastic decline in imports in April and May. In April, imports fell by almost 38 percent, and in May by 31 percent compared to the same months last year.

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According to available data for the first four months of this year, among all activities in the manufacturing industry, imports only slightly increased in the food products sector (0.8 percent) and much more in pharmaceuticals (almost 25 percent). All other manufacturing activities recorded a decline in imports; the most significant absolute decline was in automobiles. In the first four months, the value of imported cars amounted to 497 million euros, which is 232 million euros less than last year in the same period.

On the other hand, in the first four months, more sectors recorded an increase in exports. Shipbuilding saw the most significant growth, with export value during that time exceeding 173 million euros, or almost 90 percent more than in the same period last year. The value of exported food products was 1.7 percent higher, tobacco products 0.4 percent, textiles 1.7 percent, paper products nine percent, chemicals 0.7 percent, and electronics 6.3 percent higher than in the first four months last year.

However, at the same time, clothing exports suffered considerably, with a value of 154 million euros in four months, which is 35 percent less than last year in that period. The value of exports of petroleum derivatives decreased even more (36.3 percent), while machinery and equipment recorded an export decline of 18.5 percent, and so on.

Among the most important Croatian export markets, exports to Italy fell the most, by as much as 26 percent. Exports to Germany and Slovenia decreased by 12 percent each, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina by 20 percent. 

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