February the 12th, 2021 - Croatian and Israeli companies have put their heads together and engaged in what could potentially be important business talks for the future, and as many as 500 such enterprises have done so.

As Novac writes, almost 500 Croatian and Israeli companies participated in the aforementioned business talks and prepared the ground for further strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries in the future, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the economic woes it presents, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) announced.

HGK President Luka Burilovic pointed out that the Israeli economy is among the most propulsive in the world, and there's a lot to learn from them as they have some of the world's best research institutions because they spend about 5 percent of GDP on research and development and 8.1 percent of GDP on education.

"I hope that these virtual meetings between Croatian and Israeli companies will result in some concrete agreements and that we'll mamage to cooperate strongly in improving both of our economies," said Burilovic, noting that the goal of this project is to export what as many Croatian companies do as possible to Israel and indeed to other such developed markets.

Tomislav Pokrajcic, the director of the Samobor-based company Jel-Tom, who also participated in the talks with Israeli companies, believes that there is great export potential for the export of their products in particular, such as ventilation pipes, greenhouses, tents and wave breakers.

His optimism is shared by the director of the Toptours travel agency, Marina Marunic, who hopes that the the good vaccination process of the Israeli population will have a positive effect on Croatian tourism as it will attract more Israeli tourists to our shores this summer and indeed in future summers.

"I know from previous experience that the people of Israel really like to travel. Over the past month, I have come in contact with three travel agencies from Israel and we've successfully held some online meetings, so we're hoping for positive results from that,'' said Marunic.

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February 11, 2021 – The total untapped export potential of Croatian mechanical engineering machinery and equipment production is a staggering $399.8 million, according to an analysis by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce

The total untapped export potential of Croatian mechanical engineering machinery and equipment is 399.8 million US dollars, according to an analysis by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) as part of the Fit4Globe project.

According to this analysis, the Croatian mechanical engineering groups with the greatest export potential are parts for gas turbines and turbojet engines, parts of machines and devices for lifting, moving and construction works, parts for air pumps, compressors and fans, agricultural machines for use in harvesting, valves for temperature control and parts for internal combustion devices.

The analysis dealt in detail with 12 Croatian mechanical engineering products. 10 were chosen specifically because they hold unused export potential and two were chosen for their importance to domestic Croatian mechanical engineering. The untapped export potential of these Croatian mechanical engineering products exists in 34 countries, in the total amount of 127.8 million US dollars. The realization of the full potential of these Croatian mechanical engineering exports would increase by more than one-third, or 37.2 percent.

634 companies operate in the Croatian mechanical engineering sector of machinery and equipment manufacture. As much as 94 percent of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. They employ a total of 11,400 workers, generate HRK 7.7 billion in revenue (4.4 percent of the gross value of the manufacturing industry), and their annual profit is HRK 337 million. With a total of $1.22 billion in exports, they make up 6.6 of Croatia's total foreign trade.

Currently, the leading export markets for Croatian machinery are Germany with a share of 21.5 percent, Slovenia with a share of 12.5 percent and Austria with a share of 8.5 percent.

In response to the findings, the President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Burilović, pointed out that by exploiting the full potential, the total export of Croatian mechanical engineering machines and devices would increase by almost a third (32.6 percent) from the current 1.22 billion US dollars, which is 6.6 percent of total exports.

"The markets most likely to increase exports are Germany, Italy, the United States and Hungary," said Burilovic, while the president of the Metalworking Industry Association Zeljko Mazuran said that the biggest challenge for the industry is the need for greater and faster investment in plant modernization. He attributed a lack of investment to an unfavourable monetary policy, an unrealistic exchange rate of the kuna against world currencies and the low level of technological processes, industry retardation being compounded by a lack of educated metalworking workers.

According to financial reports submitted for last year, the five largest exporters of Croatian mechanical engineering parts and machines generated approximately 40 percent of total revenues in the foreign market within their sector. The top 10 largest exporters accounted for almost 50 percent.

The world market in the production of machines and devices is dominated by the USA, which in 2019, along with China and Germany, was also the leading global exporter. These three countries are also the largest importers of machinery and equipment. In the European Union, along with Germany, the largest producer is Italy.

ZAGREB, 4 February, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday it made no sense any more for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) to be funded by everyone in business who did not know what they were getting in return, adding that the mandatory monthly membership fee should be abolished.

"The mandatory fee is a parafiscal levy par excellence," he told the press.

Milanović said the HGK was "a political den," much more so than the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts which "has a certain function, although politics managed to become implanted there as well, and deeply. But it has its point, its function and use for Croatia's economy and enterprise."

He said the HGK was not an essential institution of the Croatian people and state, but a useful institution which had become useless. "Political showdowns are taking place there on a weekly basis. The election of a new HGK president after Nadan Vidošević left has turned into a political showdown."

Milanović said that he too had paid a monthly HGK fee but received nothing in return. However, he stressed, he is not for abolishing the HGK.

He agreed with the demand by the Voice of Entrepreneurs NGO for abolishing the mandatory HGK membership. He said that when he was prime minister, his cabinet failed to do so because of serious and deep problems. "That should be done right away."

Asked about yesterday's protest in Zagreb, organised by the Voice of Entrepreneurs to show dissatisfaction with how the COVID-19 crisis is being dealt with, the president said the epidemiological measures were not equal for all.

However, he added, he does not see in that "any devious scheme or conspiracy" by the national COVID response team, only inconsistent messages. "I see no evil intent in that, but it should be elaborated further".

Protests were expected

Milanović said that the protests were expected because when people give up something they demand consistency. He recalled that he had been warning from the start that restrictions must be clearly based in law and logic.

"Legally, the measures should have been passed by a two-thirds majority in parliament because this is a state of emergency," he said, adding that some people were fed up with the state of emergency and the government should talk to them.

Asked about the appointment of former deputy prime minister Martina Dalić as the president of the management board of the Podravka food company, he said that pension funds had a lot of shares in this company with an annual revenue of HRK 4.5 billion. If Podravka had not been restructured and recapitalised in July 2015, the government would now hold less than 25% and would not have such influence on the appointment of the board president.

"This is obviously a political appointment, but it does not necessarily mean that it will be a bad one. We'll see," Milanović said. He recalled that between 2012 and February 2017, when the company was led by the Social Democratic Party's Zvonimir Mršić, Podravka had doubled its stock-exchange capitalisation and increased its revenue during deflation by a quarter. He warned that in the last four years Podravka's revenue had increased by the difference in prices.

"It's a company with millions and millions in savings and our future pensioners also have expectations from it. There is also the responsibility of pension funds and pension insurance fund management companies which apparently agreed to the political demand of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. If the company grows, and it has been stagnating for years, fine, but if it does not, the question of political appointment will be raised because Martina Dalić was never in this business," the president said.

As regards the planned purchase of multi-purpose fighter jets, Milanović said he understood that a decision was delayed because of the present situation, but stressed that a decision must be made in the months ahead.

Commenting on the decision by some of the banks to withdraw from arbitration proceedings relating to the conversion of Swiss franc-denominated loans into euro loans, Milanović said he was pleased with his contribution because when he had served as prime minister his government passed the conversion law.

Asked about the shortage of coronavirus vaccine, the president expressed regret, saying that it was a problem of procurement and agreement with pharmaceutical companies.

January the 20th, 2021 - The US Government has changed, and with Joe Biden as the new president, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Ivan Barbaric has looked at precisely which questions must be answered, and which issues must be solved by the countries on either side of the vast Atlantic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the change of Government in the USA could pave way to an additional impetus to the economic relations between Croatia and the USA, and so far the highest priority is to solve the problem of double taxation and abolish visas for Croatian citizens, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) announced.

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce states that Croatian exports to the United States are continuing to grow solidly and constantly, and that a change of government in one of the world's strongest economies could give an additional spring to the step of the two countries' economic relations. 

Back in 2019, the total trade exchange between Croatia and the United States amounted to an impressive 649 million US dollars, of which 461 million kuna was made up by Croatian exports (14 percent more than in 2018). In the first nine months of 2020, the amount of exports of goods to the United States also reached almost 370 million US dollars, an increase of almost three percent over the same period a year earlier. Ivan Barbaric, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for International Affairs, believes that the economic and trade policy of the new administration of President Joe Biden will change the current direction, will go back into the direction of the process of economic globalisation, cooperation with international organisations and possible inclusion in some new/old trade agreements.

"The currently weakened strategic partnership between Washington and the European Union could now also be repaired, with the hope that the new US administration will enable stability and predictability of EU-US relations and trade. In the end, it would certainly benefit Croatia, ie Croatian companies that do business internationally,'' said Ivan Barbaric, adding that double taxation is one of the burning problems of economic relations between Croatia and the United States and has been for a long time now.

Namely, as he stated, Croatian companies export a significant number of services to the USA, during the first nine months of 2020 revenues from such services amounted to 152 million euros, and the companies that export services will be most helped out by signing the Double Taxation Agreement.

"We believe that the new US administration will realise the importance of this agreement and sign it as soon as possible," Ivan Barbaric stressed. The current topic is the abolition of visas for Croatian citizens, and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce also cooperated with the US Embassy in Croatia in resolving this problem. According to the latest unofficial information, Croatia has met all the conditions, so visas could be abolished soon.

An example of quality economic and political cooperation, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce points out, is the LNG terminal on Krk, which was put into commercial operation at the beginning of the year. This is a project of great strategic and geopolitical importance for both Croatia and the EU as a whole, because the import of American gas reduces the dependence of European consumers on Russian gas, meaning that it diversifies energy supply sources.

President-elect Biden has already announced the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement, which means a greater possibility of American investments in the field of energy, and Croatian companies should also look for their chance in this field. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce also added that wines from Croatia, more precisely Peljesac dingac and zinfandel, will be poured at the inauguration of the new American president, which is just the culmination of long-term trends of successful export and promotion of local wines over on the American market.

Croatian wine exports are growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year, and according to data for the first ten months of 2020, it reached the amount of 860,000 US dollars, meaning that despite the pandemic, it remained at the levels from 2019.

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December the 9th, 2020 - Christmas is drawing ever closer and with the festive period now well and truly here, despite it not feeling very joyous at all after a completely horrendous year, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) is encouraging the purchase of Croatian Christmas trees in order to boost domestic production.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in order to create a truly traditional Christmas atmosphere, a Christmas tree is inevitable. The mass sale of Christmas trees will soon begin, and the most common on the market are the common spruce (Picea abies) and the silver spruce (Picea punges), and to a lesser extent ordinary fir (Abies alba).

Here in Croatia, we have about a thousand local producers who mostly sell their own Croatian Christmas trees on the domestic market.

"According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, local producers placed more than 200,000 Croatian Christmas trees out on the market last year. Given such a large number of domestic producers, the export potential is significant, especially when we take into account that last year we exported only 310 trees to Bosnia and Herzegovina which amounted to a figure less than 1,300 euros. In that same period, more than 28 thousand Christmas trees were imported, of which two thirds came from Denmark, which is otherwise the largest European exporter of Christmas trees,'' said the Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Agriculture and Tourism, Dragan Kovacevic, explaining that it is mostly Nordic fir (Abies nordmanniana) which thrives better in a milder climate, and called on all those in Croatia to buy live, Croatian Christmas trees this year.

Natural trees have many advantages over artificial ones. They are grown in nurseries and on agricultural land, so they don't endanger forest ecosystems. At the same time, they produce oxygen and, during their lifetime, affect the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. It is estimated that one hectare of Christmas tree growth area can absorb up to 1 tonne of CO2 per year.

Otherwise, only those natural and legal persons who are registered in the Register of Christmas Tree Suppliers can sell and produce Christmas trees, and Croatian forests (Hrvatske sume) are among the largest domestic producers of real Croatian Christmas trees.

"As part of our nursery production, we're also raising Christmas tree plantations. As of now, 140,000 seedlings of common and silver spruce have been planted on an area covering ​​approximately 40 hectares, and a smaller amount of fir and spruce spruce has been intended exclusively for Christmas trees. In the past year, about 7,300 finished products were sold, mostly to domestic shopping centres and partly in the retail segment. This year shows an upward trend in domestic market demand.

Our goal is to achieve an annual delivery of mature Croatian Christmas trees of 30 to 50 thousand pieces, both for the domestic and the European market, which is slowly opening up to us,'' said the President of the Croatian forests, Krunoslav Jakupcic.

''In this way, we strive to provide domestic producers with quality raw materials produced from seeds collected in indigenous forest stands and adapt all of that to our climatic conditions. By soing so, we continue to develop finished Croatian products, encourage private production and protect Croatian forests from illegal logging," he added.

It's worth mentioning that one single tree is grown for an average of ten years, and new ones are planted every year to replace the ones sold. Equally, the lifespan of a tree doesn't end with the expiration of the festive season. In accordance with the principles of the circular economy, the trees are collected and disposed of at composting sites, all of which is properly organised by authorised waste disposal companies.

If you want to support domestic producers and buy a Croatian Christmas tree, pay attention to the special stamps that all the trees that are sold here must have and choose the one that is produced at home in Croatia.

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ZAGREB, October 10, 2020 - Croatia-US talks on an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation have started and Croatian exporters, notably those from the IT sector, are looking forward to them as the new measures will help them save up to 30% of their earnings, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce said on Saturday.

Dividends for tax non-residents are taxed at a rate of 30%, which causes significant problems for Croatian companies and makes them uncompetitive.

The lack of an agreement on double taxation avoidance makes business operations less transparent, and the very fact that Croatia is the only EU and NATO member that does not have such an agreement with the USA puts Croatian businesses at a disadvantage compared to businesses from other EU countries, the HGK says.

The head of the HGK group for the gaming industry and Pandora Studio company director, Andrej Levenski, said that all the more important platforms, from Steam, Google Play and Apple Store to Origin, are US companies, which means that they charge a 30% fee for commercial services.

He noted that the cancellation of double taxation would help Croatian gaming businesses save US $15-30 dollars per $100 of sales.

ZAGREB, Oct 7, 2020 - The crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumer habits and accelerated online shopping, it was heard at the 32nd edition of the MAGROS 2020 conference for producers and retailers organized by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK)  and the Suvremena Trgovina (Modern Shopping) magazine. 

Economy Ministry State-Secretary Natasa Mikus Zigman underlined that retail is important for economic development, supporting her claim with data on the share of distributive retail trade-in GDP of 10% and that 18% of all business entities are incorporated in that sector that employs 204,000 people or 15% of the total number of workers.

During the pandemic online shopping increased which shows, she said, that digital transformation is coming at an accelerated rate.

However, Mikus Zigman underlined that traditional shopping should not be neglected as it is a key element for economic growth, particularly for local communities and for consumers who do not use digital technology and all those people who prefer the traditional way of shopping.

HGK vice president for retail and finances, Josip Zaher, said that "we are living in very challenging and uncertain times in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic but all restrictions can also be a challenge and an opportunity."

"At the beginning of the year already we expected retail to grow in the overall economy, with tailwinds being provided by the record 2019 year, which after 11 years reached the level of retail of 2008. However, restrictions due to the pandemic have resulted in tectonic disruption on the global level and that downturn was felt in consumption and a change in habits by consumers hence in March a fall in retail was recorded after continually growing for five and a half years," said Zaher.

According to the State Bureau of Statistics (DZS), in the first eight months of the year retail contracted by 6.9%, compared to the same period last year, said Zaher, noting that recovery is not expected to occur next year and online shopping and adapting to new business conditions will continue.

He underlined that the ten strongest retailers account for 80% of the market which is very competitive as can be seen with the arrival of Eurospin in the midst of the pandemic. "Despite that, we do not expect any significant rearrangements on the market," said Zaher.

Online shopping increase by 14%

Head of HGK's retail section Tomislava Ravlic pointed out the permanent growth in online shopping which according to DZS, increased by 13.9% in the first six months of the year. "That trend was certainly boosted by the pandemic which restricted physical shopping," she underlined.

She too said that consumer habits are changing with more people turning to online shopping because of the coronavirus. Household appliances, IT equipment, clothing, and footwear are the most common products bought online with an increase in online food sales too, said Ravlic.

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ZAGREB, Sept 28, 2020 - Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) head Luka Burilovic said on Monday that Croatia needed more flexible labour legislation that would put emphasis on teleworking and the possibility to lay off workers more easily than was now the case.

Organising remote work in a better manner and flexibilities employment contracts are to be regulated by the new law, on which Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic and 35 Croatian business people presented their views at a meeting organised by the HGK in Zagreb.

The business people and the minister said they also expected issues to be raised such as government support for the business sector during the coronavirus epidemic, a non-working Sunday, and the minimum wage for next year, which should be determined by the end of October.

"The new law should put emphasis on remote work and the possibility to lay off workers more easily. I do not think that good worker should be laid off, but there must be greater fluctuation," Burilovic said before the meeting.

Croatia lost only 18,000 jobs due to pandemic

Burilovic said that owing to the measures taken, Croatia had lost only 18,000 jobs to the coronavirus pandemic but that the manufacturing and textile industries would need additional help.

Minister Alandrovic recalled the government's aid for a shorter working week, measures for small business owners, and those for job retention, noting that the government was not against well-substantiated proposals and would continue supporting the business sector.

The head of the KTC retail chain, Ivan Katavic, called on the government to regulate the issue of non-working Sunday, dismissing speculation that a ban on Sunday trading would result in the dismissal of 23,000 workers and a drop in GDP.

Katavic said that 97% of domestic retailers were in favour of a non-working Sunday but that foreign-owned retailer was against it and called for a consensus on the matter.

Dario Vukadinovic, president of the association of road and cargo transporters at the HGK, called for making the labour market more flexible while retaining "a certain level of social security."

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ZAGREB, August 30, 2020 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) warned on Tuesday about the shortage of workforce in the wood processing industry, which was, besides young people leaving to work in the EU and insufficient interest in vocational schools, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The shortage of workforce is an old problem in the domestic economy, and it is especially pronounced in the wood processing industry. There are several reasons for that, from emigration and the reluctance of young people to move to rural areas where most facilities are, to insufficient interest in enrolling in vocational schools and working in the occupations for which they studied. The older generation are increasingly retiring, and young people go to other EU countries because of higher salaries," the HGK said in a press release.

Vice-president of the HGK Dragan Kovacevic noted that it was also difficult to find a skilled workforce outside Croatia and the pandemic was making it even more difficult to find and bring a workforce from abroad.

The HGK underscored that judging by the interest of young people, the labour market would not satisfy the demand for wood processing workers any time soon. The list of the 20 most popular vocational schools for the next school year does not feature occupations that are most sought after in the wood processing industry.

The three most popular programmes are those for auto mechanics, media specialists and beauticians. There are, however, no carpenters, locksmiths or machinists on the list.

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ZAGREB, Aug 29, 2020 - Better-than-expected results in the tourist season in July and August in Croatia cannot be applied for stakeholders in conference tourism and tour operators that rely on doing business in shoulder seasons, the association of business tourism within the Croatian Chamber of Commerce said on Saturday.

The association recalls that total coronavirus lockdown was imposed this spring, a period when business tourism usually has the most intensive activities, and this HGK group also fears of the imminent restrictions in the post-season when this type of tourism should resume its activities.

Jasmina Kanas of the HGK business tourism association says in a press release that Friday's decision made by the national COVID-19 crisis management team whereby all healthcare institutions are supposed to postpone congresses, symposiums, conference, workshops, lectures and similar gatherings until further notice is "the last nail in the coffin" for business tourism.

Kanas recalls that a majority of gatherings organised by business tourism stakeholders are in the field of medicine.

Public healthcare protocols can be fully complied with at events organised by our businesses, and participants in such events are people (healthcare workers) who have got accustomed to applying even stricter epidemiological measures, Kanas says.

The HGK group also underlines that it does not blame anyone for the latest developments and that protagonists have the full understanding for the epidemiological measures in place.

We hope that the government will also show understanding, given that our revenues in 2020 are equal to zero, as a direct consequence of the epidemiological measures.

Kanas says that stakeholders in business tourism cannot be equally treated as businesses in other types of tourism that have manged to secure some earnings.

Therefore they request some incentives to overcome this year, such as non-repayable subsidies equal to 10% of their turnover in 2019.

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