March the 15th, 2023 - Croatian product exports to nearby Austria are very encouraging indeed, with excellent growth recorded within the SPAR retail network recently.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian manufacturers and Croatian product exports are only continuing to achieve absolutely excellent results when it comes to selling their own products through the SPAR sales network in Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Hungary.

The total level of Croatian product exports circulating within SPAR stores increased in the aforementioned neighbouring or nearby countries compared to 2021 to 38.6 million euros, or by 36 percent. The total realised turnover for those same Croatian manufacturers through the SPAR retail network is now higher than 143 million euros.

The largest increase in Croatian product exports in 2022 was recorded in Austria, where sales of well-known Croatian products such as Podravka's Linolada and Vegeta and Atlantic's Cedevita grew the most. Grasevina Kutjevo and Badel Pelinkovac also recorded significant growth.

On the neighbouring Slovenian market, the most growth was achieved by the brand Violeta, which produces its own brand of wet wipes for SPAR. The data show that Slovenians also like traditional Slavonian products of the DOBRO (Good) brand marketed by Zito d.o.o., while the Italians still remain loyal to Croatian cod and Zigante truffles.

"We're glad that in addition to large Croatian manufacturers such as Podravka and Atlantic, more and more medium-sized and even small companies are achieving significant growth through the SPAR sales network," said Helmut Fenzl, president of the SPAR Croatia Management Board.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

May the 18th, 2022 - With the war in Ukraine still ongoing and prices for some of the most surprising items on the rise, could Croatian sunflower exports be the next profitable thing for this country? Some believe so.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russian invasion back in February this year, there was a huge disturbance and uncertainty and shortages in supply, as well as a drastic rise in prices on the global market of sunflowers, sunflower products and particularly sunflower oil. Production of these products in Ukraine and Russia were of course deeply affected, and their exports otherwise dominate the global market. Is this a chance for the humble Croatian sunflower?

The most significant disturbances on the global market in the next period will be in the supply and demand of sunflower products such as the heavily used oil, due to the high concentration of production and the usual exporting of sunflower oil from both Ukraine and Russia. Any further prediction of price movements and supply in the market will primarily depend on the ability to supply sunflower oil and grain from Ukraine this season, but also the course of the war and the logistical conditions for the delivery of supplies to the rest of Europe.

“Croatian sunflower production has been growing over more recent years, in terms of production, although the area on which sunflowers are planted and cultivated hasn't increased. Croatia produces more sunflowers than it needs. Self-sufficiency stands at about 212 percent, but we meet only 44 percent of the need for sunflower oil. Given that we have production capacities for processing sunflower products into sunflower oil, it would be logical, given the rising prices, to provide larger quantities of Croatian sunflower oil and to process domestic sunflower grain in factories here in Croatia. This would ensure a stable supply of oil for the domestic market, and we have the capacity to export this highly sought after and now expensive product, which is in great demand in the global and EU markets,'' concluded the market analysis of experts from Smarter, a consulting company specialising in agriculture and food industry.

Sunflower oil production in Ukraine back in 2020 amounted to 6.45 million metric tonnes (MT), in Russia, 4.45 million MT, and in the EU 3.9 million MT. These are the three most important production areas in the entire world, while all the others are much smaller producers. The Ukrainian sunflower oil industry is focused on the export market because as much as 90 percent of production is intended for foreign markets, according to USDA data. Compared to Russia, which is the second largest producer, they consume almost 30 percent of their own sunflower oil production on their own market.

"In total, ports in the Black Sea account for almost 80 percent of the world's sunflower oil exports, and today these areas are war zones. Given the strong dominance of Ukraine and Russia on the global sunflower oil market, Russia's attack on Ukraine has caused an enormous impact on the global sunflower market, which is why it's important to change the strategic thinking about the production of Croatian sunflower oil,'' Smarter experts noted.

Russia's horrific invasion of Ukraine has significantly disrupted that large Eastern European nation's sunflower oil industry and supply chain, while an extension of the conflict threatens the next growing season. Plants which process sunflower seeds into oil have largely ceased operations, and the closure of ports prevents exports. Sunflowers are sown in Ukraine in April and May, and the harvest usually begins in September. There is a huge risk now when it comes to supply and demand because military actions are taking place in agricultural areas - many roads are blocked, commercial companies aren't working, farmers can't plant, and it's very difficult to get raw materials for quality sowing (fertiliser, fuel, protective equipment, and the like).

The main areas of sunflower seed cultivation in Ukraine are located in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the country, located in the central and eastern provinces. The main production regions are Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Lugansk, Odessa and Poltava, which together make up 62 percent of the total sown area in the country. Due to the export market orientation, most of the Ukrainian plants for sunflower processing and production of sunflower oil are located near the Black Sea ports for logistical convenience. It's now evident that the most important production basins and the possibility of delivery are endangered by the ongoing war.

In addition, Russia has announced restrictions on sunflower oil exports and a ban on the supply of sunflower seeds to ease pressure on Russian prices. All this causes great nervousness and fear for global supply and demand, and the price and availability of sunflower oil.

Could Croatian sunflower products and oil find a silver lining and find a new position for itself?

The lack of sunflower oil on markets around the world is trying to be compensated for based on available stocks, and new routes of supply from South America or South Africa. But this will not be enough to make up for the quantities which would usually be coming from the markets of Ukraine and Russia. EU oilseed processors are also increasing their sunflower oil production, in part by using sunflower seed imports from South America.

"In the EU, the processing of sunflower into sunflower oil is growing rapidly and strongly, more than expected. It's estimated to reach 9.3 to 9.4 million tonnes by the end of this processing season (July 2022), compared to 8 million tonnes in the previous season. The largest increases in production are being recorded in Romania, Bulgaria, France, Hungary and Spain with very favourable profit margins. We're also looking for substitutes for sunflower oil in other types of oil, especially palm oil, but also soybean oil, rapeseed oil, olive oil and other types of fats that can replace sunflower oil,'' said the group of Smarter experts.

The return to the use of palm oil across Europe is causing great dissatisfaction with the link between these goods and deforestation, but the move is necessary and temporary, as for now there is no viable alternative. Rapeseed oil, which until now was mostly intended for the biodiesel production market, is now being redirected to food use.

The price of sunflower oil on the global market

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, sunflower prices were high, mainly due to the low yield from back in 2021, which was affected by weather extremes, and the growth of sunflower consumption led to a strong increase in demand for animal feed in China and supply chain disruptions caused by the global COVID-19 crisis.

The war in Ukraine significantly increased the prices of sunflower oil and sunflower seeds. The biggest price increase came immediately after the outbreak of the war, when sunflower oil prices across the EU rose to around 2,900 to 3,000 US dollars per tonne in mid-March, while in February the average price was just 1,490 dollars per tonne.

In early April, sunflower oil prices in Europe fell slightly. More Ukrainian sunflower oil began to arrive on the market at a price of about 1,900 to 2,250 dollars per tonne. Certain quantities of deliveries from Russia began to appear at a price of 1,800 to 1,900 dollars per tonne. Russian sellers are offering oil and other agricultural products at discounted prices on the world market in an effort to encourage foreign buyers to buy and reduce current high inventories.

In the European Union, in some places sunflower oil even fell below the price of rapeseed oil, reflecting declining demand due to the unusually high prices in the first half of March. That said, sunflower oil supplies will remain relatively small across the EU as long as the war in Ukraine lasts, which is why there are fears of further developments in the global market.

Croatian sunflower oil production

Back in 2020, Croatia sowed sunflowers over 39,000 hectares, while 120,000 tonnes of sunflower were produced with a yield of 3.1 t / ha, which is at the level of the best EU yields. There has also been a significant increase in purchase prices in 2022, caused by global uncertainty, which increased the price to 4.70 kn / kg in March this year, while sunflower prices in previous years were around 2kn / kg.

Wholesale prices of sunflower oil back in March were already over 12 kn / kg, at the beginning of May the price reached 15.78 kn / kg, while last year at the beginning of the year they were around 8.5 kn / kg. With the war in Ukraine having broken out following Russian invasion, that growth only intensified.

We can be satisfied with the achieved yields in the production of oilseeds, because Croatian sunflower production is above both the global and the European average. Therefore, we can say that we're competitive in the production of oilseeds on the global market, and that should ensure our stability in the next challenging period.

“Regarding the production of Croatian sunflower oil; the country produces almost 40,000 tonnes of crude sunflower oil and about 60,000 tonnes of refined sunflower oil. In recent years, Croatia has been raising its sunflower production, and is a major exporter and at the same time a major importer of said oil. As such, in 2020, Croatia imported a total of 69,079 tonnes of sunflower oil, of which 45,000 tonnes were from neighbouring Serbia and 18,000 tonnes from neighbouring Hungary, while exports of Croatian sunflower oil stood at 42,767 tonnes.

In 2021, Croatian exports increased to 45,070 tonnes, and the country imported as many as 78,572 tonnes of sunflower oil. During 2020, 60,537 tonnes of sunflower seeds were exported, while in 2021 these exports increased to 64,664 tonnes. There is room for the growth of domestic processing for domestic needs, as well as for exports, and this should be an important strategic decision of the government at this time if we want to ensure the stability of the domestic market, but also become an interesting player and supplier of this sought after product across the rest of Europe.

The worst thing that can happen to Croatia is that this season we uncontrollably export far larger quantities of sunflower than we have so far, and that the domestic market remains dependent on imports of expensive sunflower oil as the final product,'' concluded Smarter's expert.

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October the 13th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic may well have ruffled feathers and shuffled the cards in a way nobody could have ever expected, but Croatian exporters have remained among the most resilient of all.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, Croatian exporters, when the line was drawn, were not only resilient but also lively and quick in the unprecedented conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. Many new "players" entered this scene, but in some sectors, especially in tourism and the oil business, the blow was severe and left a visible mark on the list of the 100 largest Croatian exporters.

In fact, it is only now that the criteria for what is considered export revenue have been questioned, which has been set in recent years since the First Gas Company (PPD) broke through to the very top of that scale. According to the criteria of Dun & Bradstreet, these are revenues from sales made abroad, and according to them, this time on the annual list of the largest Croatian exporters, the national oil company INA slipped down to second place for the first time. The leadership was taken over by PPD, which will say for itself that it is not a classic exporter.

"Although it's very nice to be on the list of the largest Croatian exporters, in previous years we've repeatedly explained that in our case it isn't about exports but about the income generated from trade abroad, on the single market," they pointed out from PPD. They noted the fact that the Republic of Croatia doesn't have enough of its own gas even for its own needs, so PPD cannot "export" it abroad. And as the European Union's single market is liberalised and open to all participants, every Croatian company can trade in the countries of the European Union and try to make money on this large market.

''PPD's experts have the necessary knowledge and experience, they know the markets well, they have access to gas exchanges and financial instruments for trading and hedging. All this allows us to successfully compete with other participants in the common EU market, and we perform our operations from our offices in Vukovar, Zagreb, Budapest and Lugano with young, local experts who are ready to learn and adapt to dynamic EU markets. We also employ European experts in our companies abroad. The combination of these experiences and knowledge that we manage from Zagreb and Vukovar has so far proved to be very good,'' said Pavao Vujnovac, President of the Board of PPD.

Crucial to revenue growth last year was the fact that the coronavirus pandemic didn't reduce gas consumption, on the contrary, a large number of consumers used gas because prices across the global market in 2020 were at historically low levels. "In such conditions, we've successfully positioned ourselves in the wholesale markets in the region and increased our sales," said Vujnovac.

This year, on the other hand, is completely opposite to last year, with record high gas prices, which wasn't at all expected, but as the first man of PPD added, his business is managing without disturbances even in these totally opposite conditions. Revenues this year will be significantly higher than they were last year as a result of extremely high gas prices on the global market, but also owing to a further increase in sales. This also indicates that it will be a big challenge for INA to skip PPD on Dun & Bradstreet's scale.

INA's export results over the last two years have been largely monitored through the prism of crude oil exports to neighbouring Hungary, where INA's refining has largely shifted after the closure of its Sisak refinery. Howevever, like everyone else in the oil business, they will say that last year was generally "extremely challenging" for them. Unlike gas, demand for their goods and services in some periods in 2020 fell by 30 to 50 percent compared to the same period in 2019, while, despite the partial recovery of the oil market in the second half of 2020, oil and gas prices were (on average) lower by more than 30 percent in comparison to the previous year.

INA's export business was also marked by reduced demand, with an annual decline of 37 percent. Over the last five years, this is the lowest export result of the largest Croatian company. Although the first half of this year was marked by somewhat more favourable circumstances, and demand in key markets rose almost to pre-crisis levels, INA CEO Sándor Fasimon cautiously says that economic recovery is still uncertain, and that it is clear that the market situation won't return to pre-pandemic levels for some time yet.

"The fact is that the coronavirus pandemic still isn't over and it's difficult to predict future trends, so we can't just sit back and relax now, especially when the transformation processes related to climate change are taken into account. Accordingly, INA is continuously working on improving business efficiency. We're working on plans to expand in export markets, and with the construction of a plant for the treatment of heavy residues in the Rijeka refinery, which is a project worth four billion kuna, we'll have to strengthen our presence in export markets.

We monitor market and global changes and at the same time expand our value chain and create new opportunities. We're guided by clear strategic development guidelines in accordance with the updated integrated long-term strategy of the MOL Group's SHAPE TOMORROW 2030+ initiative and our goal is to operate in a sustainable way and successfully respond to the challenges posed by new energy sources, environmental issues and technological progress,'' said INA's Fasimon.

Only six companies generated revenues of more than one billion kuna last year, which is a significant decrease compared to the year before, when there were twice as many strong company names in those ranks. Below that limit, in a coronavirus-dominated environment, the largest Croatian hotel companies and the national airline Croatia Airlines, which was struggling long before the pandemic struck, as well as large companies from the energy sector and the automotive industry, have descended drastically.

Among hotel companies, the most affected are Porec's Valamar Riviera and Plava laguna.

In addition to the tourism sector, the public health crisis hit the automotive industry hard in 2020, meaning that one of the largest Croatian exporters coming from that industry, Ad Plastik from Solin, also left the "billionaires club" last year. The management of Ad Plastik is cautious in assessing whether this will be temporary or not, because, as their CEO says, the demand for cars is growing compared to the first part of last year, but it will take some time to reach pre-pandemic figures. According to estimates by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA, this year's overall car sales growth is expected to be 10 percent above last year's, but it will still be below pre-pandemic results.

This year, an additional "challenge" for car manufacturers is the lack of semiconductors, which slows down production. From the experience of Ad Plastik, the Russian market is recovering more quickly, where it is also present, and where the lack of semiconductors isn't yet being felt. The company's CEO is cautious in his assessments, but generally holds the view that a slight but sure shift towards market recovery is noticeable.

For more on Croatian exporters, make sure to follow our business section.

September the 2nd, 2021 - The Golden Key Awards are upon us, and with the horrendous pandemic dominated year of 2020 quite comfortably behind us, we can look at how Croatian companies performed under the most dire of economic circumstances. These are the best Croatian exporters of 2020.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, Koncar - Distributive and special transformers/Distributivni i specijalni transformatori was named the best of the large Croatian exporters for last year. The Golden Key Award, which is being awarded for the fourteenth time in a row, was presented to them at the sixteenth annual convention of the Croatian Exporters' Association which was held in Zagreb on Wednesday.

In the category of medium-sized Croatian exporters, the winner was the astonishing Infobip from the Istrian town of Vodnjan, while the software company Axilis, which develops online betting platforms, was declared the laureate among micro and small companies.

''Croatian exporters are a shining example of the Croatian economy, but they are forced to work in much worse conditions than official statistics show and we must be concerned about that,'' said Darinko Bago, the president of the Croatian Exporters' Association at the Convention of this interest group.

"As this is a turning point, a year full of crisis, 2020 was problematic for most companies, and all comparisons of business and exports are made with pre-pandemic 2019. Back in 2019, there was a decline in exports compared to the year before. We recorded a drop in trade by 11 percent and services by 20 percent. The reason for this is the bipolar world, which, in addition to having a political plan, also has great implications for the economy. Now, the situation with Afghanistan has reignited and we're yet to see how it will affect the global economy," Bago warned.

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav Coric, said that for small and open economies, such as that boasted by the Republic of Croatia, exports are a prerequisite for development and basic survival.

"Croatian GDP has been growing for years, and lately, exports have been one of the main factors in economic growth and economic recovery. Exports even recorded very good results in 2020, because although numbers did fall, they fell much less than the general GDP did. This year alone, we're recording a large recovery in exports with numbers like 60 billion kuna, which is 11 billion kuna more than in the pre-crisis 2019 ", said Coric, added that we must be careful in this analysis of the growth of the value of exports, because part of it is related to global inflation.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

November the 12th, 2020 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves throughout the world, affecting imports and exports as well as the upkeep of medical supplies for various countries. In 2020, Croatia imports a significantly more costly amount of medicine when compared to last year.

As Marina Klepo/Novac writes, most export sectors have reduced their sales of goods since the beginning of this year owing to the dire situation, but some of them still managed to increase their product placement. In addition to mining and quarrying, which jumped sharply due to the relocation of oil refining to Hungary, the coronavirus crisis was also stimulating for the export of agricultural products.

According to the CBS, the export of agricultural products rose by 16.9 percent in the first eight months of 2020, from 3.24 to 3.79 billion kuna. When looking at things sector by sector, the export of food and live animals/livestock increased by 8.6 percent and reached 8.3 billion kuna. Exports within the food industry fell by almost 10 percent in 2020's first eight months, but several industries still managed to slightly exceed last year's results: the production of paper (5.9 percent), electrical equipment (2.5 percent), computers and electronic and optical products (2 percent), as well as food production (0.7 percent).

When it comes to imports, the only activity that has significantly increased activity is, quite naturally, pharmaceuticals, which isn't surprising when looking at the unprecedented situation dominated by the pandemic that we continue to find ourselves knee-deep in. This sector did well, and Croatia imports rose by as much as 25.9 percent, reaching a staggering 1.8 billion kuna. At the same time, exports from the Croatian pharmaceutical industry fell 7 percent.

Finally, total exports in 2020's maiden eight months amounted to 69.6 billion kuna, equal to 6.3 percent less than in the same period last year, and imports fell by 10.8 percent, down to 111.5 billion kuna. It is noticeable that trade in August decreased significantly when compared to the previous two months, and exports and imports returned to the unimpressive levels seen during the lockdown period back in April and May.

However, due to a larger drop in imports than exports, and the CBS data for the first nine months of 2020, the foreign trade deficit has significantly decreased by about 18 percent. Thus, the coverage of imports by exports has also improved; it reached 63.5 percent, from 59.9 percent in the same period last year.

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The interest in deeper cooperation between Croatia and nearby Albania lies mostly in energy, mechanical engineering, electrical industry, construction, and Croatian exports to Albania are on the up.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes on the 13th of January, 2020, one of the countries with which Croatia is experiencing strong growth in economic co-operation is Albania, and their Economy and Finance Minister Anila Denaj is on an official visit to Zagreb today.

She will talk with Croatian Economy Minister Dark Horvat, accompanied by businessmen, who will participate in the Croatian-Albanian Economic Forum, which will be held at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK). The businessmen of the two countries showed increased interest in business cooperation last summer, when the first forum was held, attended by some 20 Croatian and 88 Albanian companies, and today about 30 companies from Croatia and 20 companies from Albania applied for the bilateral talks.

Croatian exports to Albania have risen dramatically, and the most opportunities for cooperation, at least according to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, lie in the energy, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics, pharmaceutical, food, textile and footwear industries, and especially in construction and investment in Albania.

Among the Croatian companies participating in the Forum are INA, Crosco, Končar, Metal Product, Vindija, Fragaria, Pik Vrbovec plus, Elda, Kemika, Perpetuum Mobile, Tehnix, Altpro, Ozimec, Neoinfo, Elektro Centar Petek, OPG Nevenka Jurin , Surium, Runs with Twins, Sano Modern animal nutrition, Transmitters and communications, Galko, Dam, the Port of Zadar (Luka Zadar), and Bureau Veritas Croatia.

Croatian exports to Albania were at their highest back in 2015, at 67.5 million euros, after which they recorded a decline, but they increased once again and reached almost 64 million euros in the first ten months of 2019, up by 36 percent year-on-year. The main Croatian exports are oil, fish products, electric transformers and chocolate, while from Albania, Croatia imports aluminum, footwear, processed fish, herbs and vegetables.

Imports from Albania are much more modest, but they have continued to grow and amounted to 7 million euros in the last 10 months of 2019.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

This Croatian startup from Zagreb is a real mix of classical and virtual mobile games, but also has an educational mission.

As Ivan Tominac/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of April, 2019, today, virtual games have replaced classic ones like ''Čovječe ne ljuti se'' (Ludo) or ''Monopoly'', but when classically associated with a digital game, you end up with a smart social game - Mundus.

A passionate love for technology is shared by three students from Zagreb. They all came together two years ago, and their project is Mundus. Social games are undervalued today, these guys agree, and although industry experts might say that their project isn't in demand in this day and age, the fact is that they entered the startup world directly from their school desks and are learning in parallel with the development of the project.

"We had to combine what was unknown knowledge to us back then. But given the fact that we love to learn and to develop technology, it wasn't difficult for us,'' stated of Mundus's members, Filip Hercig, who was the one to kick off the project initially.

The idea for Mundus was quite spontaneous back at the end of 2015 when Hercig, who is now in charge of business development, showcased the very first concept of this clever game during a competition for young technicians and young entrepreneurs. The name changed several times - at the earliest stage it was called ''Zabavan put Hrvatske'' (A fun journey of Croatia) and then ''Svijet na dlanu'' (The world in your palm), before taking on its current name.

"In the summer of 2017, when we came to the CROZ company to develop our ideas, we decided to shorten its name from Svijet na dlanu down to just Svijet, but as it didn't sound good, we decided to translate into Latin, and that's how Mundus began,'' said Filip Hercig.

It seems that Mundus isn't just your regular type of game, and the focus of the project today is on the application of this technology within the scope of formal education. It's actually an educational system, and the game is just one of the solutions the Mundus team is working on. A mobile device acts as a kind of gaming agent, where players choose the theme for the game and launch a quiz, and everything else is played on the game's board, like with classic games before the Internet age.

Things became much more serious for this Croatian startup back in September of last year, when they won the Good Game Liftoff startup competition.

"They chose us as the best startup and besides giving us their trust, they also gave us 100,000 kuna. We can't forget to mention the Good Game Global company that actually organised the competition and raised all the funds for that prize,'' added Hercig.

After winning the Good Game Liftoff, this Croatian startup managed to secure numerous collaborations, is currently working with 48 schools across the Republic of Croatia, and interest in the game has stretched far beyond the borders of the country, and even beyond the borders of the EU and the European continent.

"There's interest on the Australian and New Zealand market, specifically in the education sector. We're currently conducting tests that are a prerequisite for serious moves in these markets,'' said Hercig. Mundus is actually still a non-profit organisation, explained Hercig, and in 2019, it should turn into a real company.

"We're oriented towards cooperating with educational institutions, but of course we're not closing the door to purchase options for private users. We've got potential there tool, and in order to best explore the mass market, we plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign in September 2019,'' concluded Mundus' Filip Hercig.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Ivan Tominac for Poslovni Dnevnik