Croatia is Slowly Becoming an Export Economy

In a country accustomed to bad news and foreign money, it sounds almost incredible, somewhat brave, to assert that slowly, but very slowly, Croatia is becoming an export economy. It took about 30 years for the mental framework of society as a whole to (again) change and move away from the systematic destruction and shutdown of production in favor of the fantasy of tourism, but it is moving nonetheless.

As reported by the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), according to preliminary data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, last year the total export with the world amounted to 111.35 billion kuna, which is a decrease of 1.4 percent compared to 2019, with the coverage of imports by exports from January to December 2020 being 65.2 percent.

Despite being one of the worst years in recent history and a strict lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, domestic exports fell by almost negligible 1.4 percent, especially when compared to the steep collapse of tourism. It is encouraging that exports in the first three months of this year are 7.9 percent higher than in the same period last year, and that March, with 1.58 billion euros in exports, set a monthly record not seen since July of the year before last.

Overall, in the first three months of this year, exports amounted to 30 billion kuna, which is even 9.5 percent more compared to the first quarter of 2020, so the coverage of imports by exports for those three months was 64.6 percent. It sounds promising, although for the true picture, one must look at so-called comparable economies and the share of exports of goods and services in total GDP. Last year, the Czech Republic was at 71.5 percent by that criterion, Hungary at 79.7, Slovenia at 78.7, and Slovakia at a high 85.7, while Croatia ended the year with a dismal 41.5 percent. However, when you are so deep at the bottom, a positive trend is a big deal. Or, as Mao allegedly said, 'a foot in the ass is a step forward.' Thus, for example, tourism, economist Petar Vušković recently stated to Večernji list, with commodity exports now amounting to about 15 billion euros annually, has shifted by 50 percent.

More about the data that inspires hope that Croatia is slowly becoming an export-oriented economy can be read in the printed and digital edition.

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