The growth of exports this year has been above expectations.
In the first four months of this year, Croatian exports of goods expressed in the kuna increased by 16.7 percent compared to the same period last year, while imports of goods rose by 10.8 percent, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, reports glasgrada.hr 8 July 2017.
The Central Bureau of Statistics has thus corrected its initial estimates, which said that exports grew in the first four months of 2017 by 15.8 percent year-on-year and imports by 9.6 percent.
According to the latest data, Croatia exported 32.4 billion kunas worth of goods to foreign markets in the first four months of this year and imported more than 52 billion kunas. Due to such trends, the deficit in the Croatian commodity exchange for the first four months increased by 2.13 percent, to 19.6 billion kunas, while the export-import ratio at the end of April stood at 62.4 percent, or 2.2 percentage points less than at the end of March.
In euros, Croatian export of goods in the first four months of this year grew even stronger – by 18.8 percent to EUR 4.3 billion, with the growth of imports by 12.7 percent, to 6.96 billion euros. As a result, the deficit in the foreign trade in euros amounted to 2.62 billion euros, which was four percent higher than at the same time last year.
The most important trade partners for Croatia are members of the European Union, which account for nearly 65 percent of the export of goods, as well as for almost 80 percent of imports. Exports to EU members amounted to 2.8 billion euros at the end of April and were 13.7 percent higher than a year earlier, while imports increased by 10 percent to almost 5.5 billion euros.
Looking at individual countries, Croatia had the largest exchange with Germany, Italy and Slovenia. The Croatian economy exported goods to Germany in the amount of more than 518.7 million euros, with an annual growth of 11.3 percent, while imports from the largest European economy grew at the same time by 10.6 percent, to nearly 1.13 billion euros. Exports of goods to Italy amounted to 574.6 million euros and were 13.7 percent higher than last year, and imports from that country grew by 9.5 percent to more than 909.5 million euros. Exports to Slovenia reached 486.3 million euros, with imports from that country rising by 10.4 percent to 750.2 million euros.
Exports to CEFTA countries stood at 719.11 million euros, which was an increase of 22.4 percent, while imports from these countries rose by 19 percent to 417.16 million euros.
Looking at the sectors of activity, the largest growth in exports was achieved in the production of refined petroleum products – 88.1 percent, to 255.9 million euros, while the pharmaceutical industry increased its exports by 46.2 percent to 372.5 million euros. The exceptionally high growth rate of exports in the first four months was recorded in the production of other means of transport, which includes shipbuilding, which grew by 204.3 percent, to 134 million euros. Croatian food industry in the first four months of this year exported goods worth 323 million euros, which was 1.4 percent less than last year.
In imports, the most significant growth, by 83.8 percent to EUR 439.2 million, was reported in the mining and quarrying activities, while the largest decline, by 25.4 percent, to less than 20.5 million euros, was recorded in the import of tobacco products.
