Betters days coming for Croatian exporters?
Croatian exporters should be the biggest advocates for Croatia’s entry into the eurozone since they are the ones who would benefit the most from the introduction of the euro, said Martina Dalić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy on Monday, reports Jutarnji List on November 6, 2017.
“I believe that exporters will be the strongest supporters of Croatia’s entry into the eurozone,” said Dalić at the opening of the 16th international conference on export promotion, which is being held today at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb, organised by the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
She also announced that the government would launch a new round of removal of barriers to entrepreneurship and business, which should be implemented early next year.
Marko Jurčić, who was an envoy of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, stressed the importance of exports for the Croatian economy and demography. “The best social policy is a policy of opening new high-quality jobs, which will keep people living here. The key for this is export promotion,” said Jurčić.
Tamara Perko, CEO of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), announced that the state-owned financial institution would be even more ready to stimulate exports in the future.
It is essential to Croatian exporters for the country to enter the eurozone as soon as possible because of lower cost of capital and lower export risk, as well as due to exchange rate differences that will be eliminated, which means they will become more competitive compared to exporters from other countries, said Darinko Bago, CEO of Končar and president of the Association of Croatian Exporters.
Before the start of the conference, asked by journalists to explain more clearly his position on the expected introduction of the euro, Bago expressed his hope that the process would be as quick as possible and that the government, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) and everyone else, would undertake maximum efforts to accelerate the process.
“Croatian exporters constantly warn about the exchange rate problem, aware that the exchange rate cannot be changed just like that, because it would affect a large number of citizens who can lose a lot with the possible devaluation of the kuna,” Bago said, adding that the HNB had failed to take a range of measures which could help Croatian exporters. “We are just afraid that this could become just an excuse for the HNB to not do anything in the future as well, with the explanation that we are waiting to enter the eurozone,” Bago said.
Translated from Jutarnji List.
