Export Value in the First Three Months Jumped by Nearly 14 Percent

The value of Croatian merchandise exports in the first three months of this year amounted to 5.8 billion euros, which is 13.7 percent higher compared to the same period in 2022, while imports increased by 6.1 percent to 9.8 billion euros, according to the first data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) published on Tuesday.

Thus, the foreign trade deficit in the first three months of 2023 amounted to 3.96 billion euros, which is 138.7 million euros lower than in the same period last year.

The coverage of imports by exports, according to the first data for the first three months of this year, was 59.5 percent, while in the same period last year it was 55.5 percent.

According to DZS data, goods worth four billion euros were exported to EU member states in the first three months of this year, which is 12.3 percent more than in the same period a year earlier. At the same time, the value of imported goods in the first three months of 2023 from EU member states increased by eight percent to 7.5 billion euros.

Statistics for exports to non-EU countries recorded a growth of 16.8 percent to 1.8 billion euros, while there was only a slight increase in merchandise imports from non-EU countries, by 0.3 percent to 2.3 billion euros.

Revised Data for the First Two Months

DZS also published other data on merchandise trade for the first two months of this year, which show that exports increased by 9.2 percent to 3.4 billion euros, while imports rose by 12.4 percent to 6.1 billion euros.

Thus, DZS corrected its initial data, according to which the value of Croatian merchandise exports for the first two months was 3.44 billion euros, which is 9.1 percent higher compared to the same period in 2022, while imports increased by 11.1 percent to 6.07 billion euros.

According to the new data, the foreign trade deficit in the first two months of 2023 amounted to 2.7 billion euros, and the coverage of imports by exports was at 56.1 percent.

The most important foreign trade partners of Croatia are EU member states, and in the first two months of 2023, trade with the EU accounted for 67.7 percent of total exports and 76.3 percent of total imports.

As before, in the first two months of 2023, Croatia’s largest foreign trade partners were Italy, Germany, and Slovenia.