February 14, 2023 - For the first time in the thirty-year history of the Croatian state, the United States of America has made its way into Croatia's four most important foreign trade partners when it comes to importing goods, all thanks to the import of American liquefied gas.
As Poslovni / Večernji List write, in the first 11 months of last year, goods worth 2.88 billion euros were imported from America, in contrast to the year before, when imports were only 415 million euros. More significant goods imports were recorded only from the traditionally strongest Croatian partners of Italy, Germany, and Slovenia.
The value of goods imported from the USA is seven times higher than that of goods imported in 2021, all thanks to the liquefied gas that ended up in the liquid natural gas terminal in Omišalj.
How much of last year's imported liquefied gas remained in Croatia and how much was exported to other countries is currently impossible to read from the first commodity exchange data because such analyses are published afterward.
It is possible that the gas was going to Hungary and Cyprus because exports to those two countries stand out. However, while the import of expensive liquefied gas from America exploded, the export of Croatian companies to the US decreased by around 9 percent compared to the year before, which is contrary to the general trend in the foreign trade exchange of Croatian entrepreneurs.
The value of merchandise exports in 2022 was 23.9 billion euros, which is 30 percent more than in 2021, while imports increased by 46 percent, to 41.6 billion euros, announced the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
The figures are dizzying and are mainly the result of inflation and rising energy prices, and judging by the dynamics with which exports grew; it seems that inflation is also slowing down, writes Večernji list journalist Ljubica Gatarić.
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