ZAGREB, 14 July, 2021 - Croatia increased the catch and production of sea fish and other marine organisms by 9% in 2020 compared with the previous year, while the value of fisheries rose by 10.4%, according to provisional data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

The increase in the value of fisheries was due to the 11.6% rise in the value of sea fisheries, which in turn was driven by the 10.3% increase in sales.

A total of 66,535 tonnes of pelagic fish were sold last year, which is 7,054 tonnes more than in 2019, while the value of pelagic fish sold rose by 13.7% to HRK 518.2 million.

Also sold were 18,321 tonnes of other fish, their value reaching HRK 774.8 million, up by 13.5% compared with 2019.

The number of fishermen engaged in maritime fishing in 2020 fell by 0.4% to 6,582, and the number of fishing vessels decreased by 0.8% to 7,555.

The provisional data also show that the total production of freshwater fish in 2020 declined by 14.7% to 2,644 tonnes.

(€1 = HRK 7.48)

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ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - In May 2021, 835 building permits were issued, which was 9% more than in May 2020, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

By types of constructions, 82.6% of the permits were issued for buildings and 17.4% for civil engineering works, up by 9.3% and 7.4% on the year respectively.

The permits issued in May 2021 envisaged almost HRK 3 billion worth of construction works, up by 12.7% on the year.

Based on the types of construction works, 75.8% of the permits were issued for new constructions and 24.2% for reconstructions.

The permits issued in May 2021 envisage the construction of 1,583 flats.

In the first five months of 2021, 4,931 building permits were issued, up 21.3% on the year, envisaging HRK 12.64 billion worth of construction works, up 21.1% from January-May 2020.

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ZAGREB, 13 July, 2021 - In 2020, the physical volume of gross agricultural production in Croatia went up by 2.4% on the year, owing to a growth in plant production, while cattle production dropped, according to the national statistical office.

ZAGREB, 13 July (Hina) - In 2020, the physical volume of gross agricultural production in Croatia went up by 2.4% on the year, owing to a growth in plant production, while cattle production dropped, according to the national statistical office.

Plant production went up by 7%, while cattle production fell by 4.1%.

Maize production went up by 5.8%, wheat by 7.4%, by soybean by 8.9% and grapes by 14.1%.

In cattle production, only beef production increased, by 1.2%, while egg production went up by 11%.

Plant production accounted for 61.5% and cattle production for 38.5% of gross production.

In 2020, the physical volume of net agricultural production increased by 2.8%.

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ZAGREB, 7 July, 2021 - Croatia's stockpiles of finished industrial goods in May 2021 were 0.5% higher than in the previous month and 2.5% higher than in May 2020, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

Broken down by main industrial groupings, compared with April 2021, stockpiles of durable consumer goods increased the most, by 7.1%. Stockpiles of energy rose by 2.9% and those of intermediate goods and non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.2%. At the same time, stockpiles of capital goods fell by 2.3%.

Compared with May 2020, stockpiles of energy increased by 41% and those of non-durable consumer goods by 11%, while stockpiles of durable consumer goods fell by 18.6%, those of intermediate goods by 11.1% and stockpiles of capital goods by 7.8%.

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ZAGREB, 23 June, 2021 - Total household loans in Croatia reached HRK 137.5 billion at the end of April 2021, increasing by HRK 3.6 billion from April 2020, Raiffeisen Bank (RBA) said in its recent analysis of data provided by the Croatian National Bank (HNB).

The annual nominal household loan growth rate was 2.7%, picking up from 1.6% in March 2021.

The share of kuna-denominated loans in total loans was 55%, and the nominal amount of loans was affected by the euro-kuna exchange rate, which was 0.4% lower on an annual level and 0.1% lower on a monthly level.

Compared with December 2020, household credit claims in April 2021 increased by 1% or HRK 1.35 billion as a result of a rise in the nominal value of housing loans and the impact of housing subsidy schemes on them.

Housing loans accounted for 46.4% of total household loans, reaching HRK 63.8 billion, up by 1.61 billion from the end of 2020. The annual growth rate picked up from 8.3% in March to 9% in April.

On the other hand, general-purpose cash loans, despite a slight monthly rise of 0.2% to HRK 52.5 billion, were 1.4% lower than in April 2020, while increasing by 0.5% compared with the end of 2020.

RBA analysts expect that the rise in household loans will continue this year on the back of subsidised housing loans and the need for funding for the reconstruction of housing damaged in last year's earthquakes.

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the acceleration of economic activity, there will be an increase in demand for cash loans, but this year it will be more modest than two-digit growth rates seen between mid-2018 and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, RBA said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 8 June, 2021 - Nine percent of Europeans and seven percent of Croatians have been misled into buying counterfeit products, according to a survey released by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Tuesday.

The study, entitled "European Citizens and Intellectual Property", shows that consumers find it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake products.

Nearly one in ten Europeans claimed that they were misled into buying counterfeits, but there were considerable differences between EU member states. 19% of Bulgarians, 16% of Romanians and 15% of Hungarians said they were deceived, compared to 2% of Swedes and 3% of Danes.

Croatia was below the EU average, with 7% of its citizens saying they were misled into buying counterfeit products.

According to Eurostat, over 70% of Europeans shopped online in 2020, and uncertainty regarding counterfeit products has become a growing concern for consumer protection, the study showed.

Counterfeit products represent 6.8 % of EU imports worth €121 billion and impact every sector, from cosmetics and toys, wine and beverages, electronics and clothing to pesticides and pharmaceutical products. They pose serious risks to the health and safety of citizens as they usually do not comply with quality and safety standards.

The study says that the worldwide trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products has been estimated at €4 billion. Digital piracy also represents a highly lucrative market for infringers. Just in the area of internet protocol television (IPTV), €1 billion of unlawful revenue is generated every year by the
supply and consumption of copyright-infringing digital content in the EU, harming creators and
legitimate businesses.

Counterfeiting affects not only consumers, but it also causes considerable damage to the EU
economy, notably small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One in four SMEs and 21.7% of SMEs in Croatia said they suffered damage on account of intellectual property rights infringement, according to the study.

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ZAGREB, 4 June 2021 - Croatian citizens made half as few private and business trips of several days in 2020 than in 2019 due to the pandemic, on which they spent 57% or HRK 5.4 billion less, and they spent HRK 1.35 billion or 60% less on one-day trips, show data from the national statistical office (DZS).

The data from the DZS on the tourist activity of the population in 2020 show that 62.4% of the Croatian population did not make private trips of several days and as many as 95.3% did not make business trips, which was mostly due to the pandemic and uncertainty about health.

Last year, 1.3 million Croatian citizens made trips, a million of them made trips in Croatia, while others either made trips abroad or both, and an equal number of trips were made by men and women.

In 2020, a total of 3 million private and business trips of several days were made, down 50% compared to 2019, 19.5 million overnight stays were generated, down 40%, and HRK 5.4 billion was spent, down 57%.

Most of those trips, 2.8 million, were private, down 55% from 2019, and HRK 4.6 billion was spent on them (down 50%).

Business trips of several days saw an even sharper drop due to the pandemic, with only 216,000 made in 2020, down 74% from 2019, and HRK 703 million was spent on them (down 77%). The number of business trips made in Croatia dropped by 62% and the number of those made abroad fell by 85%.

Croatian citizens made 3,9 million one-day private and business trips in 2020, down 50% from 2019, and they spent HRK 1.35 billion on them (down 60%).

Of that total expenditure, HRK 1 billion was spent on one-days trips in Croatia, which accounted for most of the one-day trips made, or 3.3 million.

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ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - The volume of construction work in March 2021 was 16% higher than in March 2020, while compared to the previous month, it dropped by 0.4%, show preliminary data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

March was the tenth consecutive month with a year-on-year increase in the volume of construction work.

The volume of construction work on buildings in March this year was 16.5% up from March 2020 while the volume of work on other structures rose 15.3%.

Compared to February 2021, construction work on buildings in March was up 0.5% and on other structures it was 3.9% higher.

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ZAGREB, 12 May, 2021 - The European Union's industrial production stabilised in March following a decline in the previous month, while Croatia's production grew above the bloc's average rate, according to a report released by Eurostat on Wednesday.  

In March 2021, the seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.6% in the EU and by 0.1% in the euro area, compared with February 2021. In February 2021, industrial production fell by 1.0% in the EU and by 1.2% in the euro area.

In both regions, the recovery was driven by production of non-durable consumer goods, which rose by 2.0% in the EU and by 1.9% in the euro area, compared with February 2021.

Production of intermediate goods rose by 1.1% in the EU and by 0.6% in the euro area. The energy sector also recorded a rise, of 1.0% in the EU and of 1.2% in the euro area.

On the other hand, production of capital goods fell by 0.4% in the EU and by 1.0% in the euro area, and production of durable consumer goods decreased by 0.3% in the EU and by 1.2% in the euro area.

Among member states for which data are available, the highest increases were registered in Denmark (+4.9%), Lithuania (+4.5%) and Bulgaria (+3.7%). The largest decreases were observed in Luxembourg (-4.4%), Belgium (-4.0%) and Finland (-2.1%). Croatia saw a monthly drop in industrial production of 3.4%.

Annual comparison

In March 2021 compared with March 2020, industrial production increased by 11.0% in the EU and by 10.9% in the euro area. In February 2021, industrial production fell by 1.4% in the EU and by 1.8% in the euro area. 

Production of durable consumer goods rose the most, by 34.4% in both regions. Production of capital goods increased by 15.9% in the EU and by 16.1% in the euro area, production of intermediate goods rose by 13.4% in the EU and by 13.3% in the euro area, production of energy went up by 2.7% in the EU and by 3.3% in the euro area, and production of non-durable consumer goods increased by 1.1% in the EU and by 0.7% in the euro area.

Among member states for which data are available, the highest increases were registered in Italy (+37.7%), Slovakia (+24.5%), Hungary and Poland (both +16.3%). Decreases were observed in Malta (-2.8%) and Finland (-2.2%). In Croatia, industrial production rose by 9.9% year on year.

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ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - Croatia exported the commodities worth 30 billion kuna in the first three months of 2021, which was 9.5% more in comparison to the corresponding period in 2020, whereas the imports rose 2.1% to HRK 46.5 billion, the national statistical office (DZS) reported on Friday.

As a result, Croatia's foreign trade deficit in Q1 2021 narrowed by nine percent to HRK 16.45 billion compared to the 2020 Q1.

The coverage of the import by the export was 64.6%.

In the first three months of 2021, HRK 20.7 billion worth of goods was exported to the EU, 8.9% more on the year, and HRK 9.3 billion to non-EU countries (+10.9%).

The import of goods from the EU totalled HRK 36.7 billion, which was the same level as in the corresponding period of 2020, while import from other countries rose 11.4% to HRK 9.7 billion.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's goods export totalled €3.97 billion, up 7.9%, while import increased 0.6% to €6.1 billion.

The foreign trade deficit was €2,2 billion.

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