ZAGREB, 11 March (2022) - Croatia exported HRK 12.3 billion worth of commodities in January 2022, which is an increase of 43.7% over the same period in 2021, while imports rose by 43.9% to HRK 18.8 billion, according to initial data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

The foreign trade deficit was HRK 6.6 billion, increasing by 2 billion from January 2021. Coverage of imports by exports was 65.1%.

Exports to EU member states rose by 50.4% from January 2021 to HRK 8.97 billion, while imports increased by 27.4% to HRK 13.6 billion.

Exports to non-EU countries grew by 28.3% to HRK 3.3 billion, and imports from those countries rose by 117.1% to HRK 5.2 billion.

Expressed in euro, exports totalled €1.6 billion, up 44.1% year on year, while imports grew by 44.4% to €2.5 billion. The trade deficit was €874.6 million.

The value of EU exports was €1.2 billion, which is an increase of 50.8% compared with January 2021, while imports rose by 27.8% to €1.8 billion.

Exports to non-EU countries went up by 28.6% to €439.7 million, and imports increased by 117.6% to €697.9 million.

Data for the whole of 2021 shows that exports increased by 28.2% to HRK 143.7 billion and imports by 23.5% to HRK 213 billion compared with 2020.

The trade deficit was HRK 69.3 billion, and coverage of imports by exports was 67.5%.

Expressed in euro, last year exports totalled €19.1 billion, increasing by 28.2% year on year, while imports grew by 23.5% to €28.3 billion. The trade deficit was €9.2 billion.

(€1 = HRK 7.560109

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ZAGREB, April 10, 2020 - Croatia's commodity exports reached HRK 18.1 billion in the first two months of 2020, up by 5.1% compared with the same period in 2019, while imports rose by 4% to HRK 29.7 billion, according to initial data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Friday.

The foreign trade deficit in the first two months of this year was HRK 11.6 billion, or HRK 264.3 million higher than in the corresponding period last year. Coverage of imports by exports increased from 60.4% to 61%.

Exports to EU member states rose by 2.2% to HRK 12.2 billion, while exports to non-EU countries went up by 11.6% to HRK 5.9 billion.

At the same time, EU imports increased by 2.8% to HRK 24.1 billion and non-EU imports rose by 9.4% to HRK 5.5 billion.

Viewed in euros, exports in the January-February period of 2020 reached €2.4 billion, up by 4.7% over the same period of 2019, while imports rose by 3.6% to nearly €4 billion.

The foreign trade deficit was €1.56 billion, compared to €1.52 billion in the first two months of 2019.

EU exports increased by 1.9% to €1.6 billion, and non-EU exports rose by 11.1% to €790.6 million. EU imports went up by 2.5% to €3.2 billion and non-EU imports reached €741.9 million, up 9%.

The manufacturing industry accounted for 84.2% of total exports. In January, manufacturing industry exports fell by 2% to €968.6 million.

Italy and Germany remained Croatia's main trading partners.

In January 2020, Croatia exported €154 million worth of commodities to Italy, which is 11.6% less than in January 2019, while at the same time imports from Italy increased by 6.7% to €269.4 million.

Exports to Germany decreased by 6.6% to €151.4 million and imports fell by 8.6% to €270.4 million.

January also saw a decline in exports to CEFTA (Central Free Trade Agreement) countries, of 5.6% to €178.6 million, with exports to Bosnia and Herzegovina falling by 9.4% to €97.4 million and to Serbia by 8.8% to €45.96 million.

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ZAGREB, March 10, 2020 - Croatia's commodity exports in January 2020 totalled HRK 8.3 billion, up by 0.4% compared to January 2019, while the imports rose 1.3% to HRK 14 billion, according to provisional data provided by the national statistical office (DZS) on Tuesday.

As a result, the country's foreign trade deficit was HRK 5.7 billion, which is by 154.3 million kuna more than in January 2019.

The coverage of imports by exports went from 59.9% to 59.4%.

Croatia's exports to other EU member-states rose by 3.6% to over six billion kuna on the year.

On the other hand, exports to non-EU members fell 7.2% to HRK 2.3 billion.

The imports from EU members increased 1.3% to HRK 11.5 billion, and from non-EU members by 1.5% to HRK 2.6 billion.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's commodity exports in January 2020 totalled €1.1 billion, down 0.2% on the year, while imports went up 0.8% to €1.9 billion.

The foreign trade deficit was €765.7 million, as against €748.8 million in January 2019.

The latest data on exports and imports in the whole of 2019, show that Croatia's commodity exports in 2019 totalled HRK 114.2 billion, up 5.8% on the year, while imports reached HRK 184.3 billion, an increase of 4.6%.

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ZAGREB, February 7, 2020 - Croatia's commodity exports in 2019 totalled 114.1 billion kuna, up 5.7% on the year, while imports reached HRK 184 billion, an increase of 4.4%, the national statistical office said on Friday.

The foreign trade deficit was 70 billion kuna, 1.66 billion kuna higher than in 2018. The coverage of imports by exports increased from 61.2% to 62%.

In 2019, commodity exports to EU countries totalled 78.3 billion kuna, up 5.6% on the year, while exports to non-EU countries went up 6% to 35.75 billion kuna.

Commodity imports from EU countries went up 7.4% to 147.8 billion kuna, while those from non-EU countries dropped 6.1% to 36.2 billion kuna.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's commodity exports in 2019 totalled €15.4 billion, up 5.8% on the year, while imports went up 4.5% to €24.8 billion. The foreign trade deficit was €9.4 billion, up from €9.2 billion in 2018.

Commodity exports to EU countries stood at €10.6 billion (+5.6%), while those to non-EU countries were €4.8 billion (+6%). Commodity import from EU countries were €20 billion (+7.5%), while those from non-EU countries were €4.9 billion (-6.1%).

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In the first nine months of 2019, Croatia exported 683 million EUR of sparkling wine. The production and export of Croatian sparkling wine is on the rise and exports within first nine months of this year have also exceeded that of 2018.

First Nine Months of 2019 Exports Exceed 2018

From January to September of 2019, Croatia exported 476 hectoliters of sparkling wine compared to a total of 441 hectoliters last year, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (CCE) announced, according to Novac/Jutarnji List on Friday, December 27, 2019.

"The production of local sparkling wines is constantly growing, as is its export. More sparkling wines are being made from indigenous Croatian grape varieties, and their quality is becoming more recognized in the most demanding markets. Therefore, with relatively small quantities, we are achieving competitive pricing and hope that this trend will continue in the future," said Žaklina Jurišić, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Food Industry and Forestry from the Croatian Chamber of Economy (CCE), in a statement.

According to the CCE, 476 hectoliters of sparkling wine worth 683 million EUR were exported in the first nine months of this year. Imports slowed down slightly and 12,800 hectoliters worth 7.9 million EUR were imported.

Data for the first nine months show that sparkling wines were the most exported (211 hectoliters worth 546,000 EUR) which were followed by sparkling fresh grape wines with protected trademarks (146 hectares worth 64,000 EUR) and other types of sparkling wine from fresh grapes (92 hectoliters worth 55,000 EUR). In 2018, sparkling wine exports increased 35 percent over 2017, from 748,000 EUR to 1.08 million EUR. Quantitatively, exports are up 117 hectoliters, from 324 hectoliters in 2017 to 441 hectoliters in 2018, according to the CCE.

Most Croatia Sparkling Wine Exports to The Netherlands

Traditionally, most sparkling wine is exported to the Netherlands (346,500 EUR), followed by Italy (178,100 EUR) and Germany (140,300 EUR). Interestingly, our fourth largest export market is Singapore, which received sparkling wine imports totaling 136,000 EUR last year, CCE reported.

On the other hand, sparkling wine imports have increased in quantity and value. In 2018 sparkling wine imports exceeded 9 million EUR, while imports in 2017 totaled 7.6 million EUR. This is an increase from 14,300 hectoliters to 17,900 hectoliters, the statement read.

Most of the sparkling wine is being imported from France (3.3 million EUR), Italy (2.8 million EUR) and Germany (1.1 million EUR).

According to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (CCE), the largest quantities of sparkling wine coming into the Croatian market this year are: other types of sparkling wines from fresh grapes (5,000 hectoliters worth 1.1 million EUR), sparkling wines from fresh grapes (2,900 hectoliters worth 1.2 million EUR) and prosecco with trademark-protected labels (2,500 hectoliters worth 1.2 million EUR).

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ZAGREB, December 9, 2019 - Croatia's commodity exports reached 94.1 billion kuna in the first ten months of 2019, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2018, while imports increased by 5.3% to 155.4 billion kuna, initial data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) showed on Monday.

The foreign trade deficit in the first ten months of this year was 61.3 billion kuna, or 3.33 billion kuna higher than at the same time last year. Coverage of imports by exports was 60.5%, down from 60.7% in the first ten months of 2018.

Export to EU member states rose by 4% to 64 billion kuna and exports to non-EU countries went up by 7.2% to 30 billion kuna.

Imports from EU members increased by 9% to 125 billion kuna, while imports from non-EU countries fell by 7.5% to 30 billion kuna.

Viewed in euro, exports reached 12.7 billion euro, up 5.2%, and imports rose by 5.5% to 21 billion euro. The trade deficit was 8.3 billion euro, compared to 7.8 billion euro in the first ten months of 2018.

Exports to EU member states amounted to 8.64 billion euro, an increase of 4.2%, and exports to non-EU countries rose by 7.3% to 4.05 billion euro.

Imports from EU member state increased by 9.2% to 16.9 billion euro, while imports from non-EU countries dropped by 7.4% to 4.11 billion euro.

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ZAGREB, October 23, 2019 - The government can support exporters and enterprises by reducing para-fiscal charges and by offering financial schemes for improvement energy efficiency in industry, Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said at a convention of exporters organised by the Lider business weekly newspaper.

Minister Ćorić says that Croatian exporters are faced with a series of challenges, some of these being an increasing cost of labour and electricity which is something the state cannot influence to any great degree. However, the authorities can reduce para-fiscal charges, which it is already doing, he added.

He recalled that currently a new model for paying charges for renewable energy sources (OIE) is being implemented which should relieve large consumers in the energy intensive industry sectors. This is at the final stage of negotiations with the European Commission and the cutting costs can range between 80%, 60% and 40%.

Ćorić said that the ministry had provided 495 million kuna in subsidies over the past two years to stimulate energy efficiency in industry.

In his comment on repeated complaints by exporters that the kuna currency is too strong, the minister said that a strong kuna has become an alibi for failure because it has been strong since 1994 while on the other hand since then to date, we have had a "unbelievable stable exchange rate."

Asked about the possibility of Volkswagen coming to Croatia, Ćorić said that he did not personally participate in those talks however he believes that a move like that would mean a lot to Croatia's industry and import sector.

If talks in that regard have commenced, everything will be done for that investment to be achieved, Ćorić said.

Marinko Došen, of the AD Plastik Group that manufactures car plastic parts said that the possibility of Volkswagen coming to Croatia depended on what concessions it would be offered and that statements by Economy Minister Darko Horvat were encouraging in that regard. The figures show that for every employee in the automobile industry there are at least seven employed in the entire infrastructure and supply industry, Došen underlined.

He believes that the arrival of Volkswagen would be an excellent boost for Croatia's economy. Volkswagen is one of AD Plastik's buyers and the arrival of that German giant would open the opportunity to finally sell something on the local market.

Croatia is going into the fight for an investment worth over a billion euro, which is how much German car maker Volkswagen plans to invest in a new factory, Večernji List daily said on Tuesday, citing sources at the Ministry of the Economy.

The Germans planned on building the factory in Turkey but ditched the plan over Ankara's military offensive in Syria, Večernji List says, adding that, according to well-informed sources, Croatia will be included in a new round of talks between Volkswagen and the interested countries, namely Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.

Volkswagen plans to produce 300,000 vehicles annually and employ 4,000 people in the new factory, the newspaper says.

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ZAGREB, October 9, 2019 - Croatia's commodity exports in the first eight months of 2019 totalled 74.1 billion kuna, up 5.8% on the year, while imports went up 5.9% to 123.5 billion kuna, the national statistics office (DZS) reported on Wednesday.

The foreign trade deficit was 49.4 billion kuna, 2.8 billion kuna higher than in the same period last year. The export-import rate dropped from 60.1% to 60% year-on-year.

Commodity exports to EU member states in the period from January to August totalled 50.1 billion kuna, up 4.6% on the year, and HRK 24 billion to non-EU countries, up 8.5%.

Commodity imports from EU member states increased by 9.1% to 99.6 billion kuna while at the same time imports from non-EU countries decreased by 5.7% to 23.9 billion kuna.

Expressed in euro currency, Croatia's commodity exports in the first eight months of 2019 totalled a little more than 10 billion euro, up 6% year-on-year while imports increased at that same rate to 16.7 billion euro.

The foreign trade deficit stood at 6.7 billion euro, up from 6.3 billion euro in the first eight months of 2018.

Commodity exports to EU member states amounted to 6.8 billion euro, up 4.8% on the year, and 3.2 billion euro to non EU countries, up 8.6%.

The value of commodity imports from EU member states increased by 9.3% to 13.4 billion euro, while imports from non-EU countries fell by 5.6% to 3.2 billion euro.

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ZAGREB, September 6, 2019 - Croatia's exports reached 66.4 billion kuna in the first seven months of 2019, an increase of 8.2% over the same period in 2018, while imports went up by 6.9% to 109.8 billion kuna, according to initial data from the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS) released on Friday.

The foreign trade deficit was 43.4 billion kuna, up 2 billion kuna, while the coverage of imports by exports increased from 59.7% in the first seven months of 2018 to 60.4% in the same period this year.

Exports to EU member states rose by 6.7% to 44.8 billion kuna, while exports to non-EU countries increased by 11.5% to 21.5 billion kuna. At the same time, imports from EU member states rose by 9.7% to HRK 88.7 billion, while imports from non-EU countries fell by 3.4% to 21 billion kuna.

Viewed in euros, exports totalled €8.9 billion, up 8.3%, while imports went up by 7.1% to €14.8 billion. The foreign trade deficit was €5.8 billion, up from €5.56 billion at the same time last year.

EU exports amounted to slightly over €6 billion, an increase of 6.8%, and non-EU exports rose by 11.6% to €2.9 billion. EU imports increased by 9.9% to €11.9 billion and non-EU imports declined by 3.3% to €2.8 billion.

The DZS revised upwards its data for the first six months of the year, saying that exports increased by 5.5% to 54.7 billion kuna and imports rose by 7.4% to 93.4 billion kuna. Initial data showed that exports increased by 5.1% and imports by 6.8%.

In the first half of the year the foreign trade deficit was 38.7 billion kuna and the coverage of imports by exports was 58.5%.

Viewed in euros, exports in the first half of 2019, compared with the first half of 2018, rose by 5.8% to €7.4 billion and imports went up by 7.6% to €12.6 billion. The foreign trade deficit was €5.2 billion.

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ZAGREB, August 9, 2019 - Croatia's commodity exports in the first six months of 2019 totalled 54.4 billion kuna, up 5.1% on the year, while imports went up 6.8% to 92.9 billion kuna, according to first estimates presented by the national statistical office (DZS) on Friday.

The foreign trade deficit was 38.5 billion kuna, nearly 3.2 billion kuna higher than in the corresponding period of 2018.

The export-import ratio dropped annually from 59.5% in the first six months of 2018 to 58.6% in H1 2019.

Commodity exports to EU member states totalled 36.8 billion kuna, up 3.6% on the year, and 17.6 billion kuna to non-EU countries, up 8.4%.

Commodity imports from EU member states increased 10% to 75.6 billion kuna, while those from non-EU countries decreased 5.4%% to 17.3 billion kuna.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's commodity exports totalled 7.3 billion euro, up 5.3% on the year, while imports went up 7% to 12.5 billion euro in the 2019 H1. The foreign trade deficit stood at 5.2 billion euro, up from the 4.7 billion euro in the 2018 H1.

Commodity exports to EU member states totalled 4.96 billion euro, up 3.8% on the year, and 2.4 billion euro to non-EU countries, up 8.5%.

Commodity imports from EU member states increased 10.2% to 10.2 billion euro, while those from non-EU countries decreased 5.3% to 2.3 billion euro.

Croatia's commodity exports in the first five months of 2019 totalled 45.9 billion kuna, up 7.6% on the year, while imports went up 10.5% to 79.2 billion kuna, according to the updated statistics.

The first results released by the DZS on 9 July showed that Croatia's commodity exports in the first five months of 2019 totalled 45.8 billion kuna, up 7.4% on the year, while imports went up 9.8% to 78.7 billion kuna.

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