The Croatian industry sees the dominance of the agri-food, chemical, timber, furniture, paper and printing, machinery and metallurgy sectors. The industrial production volume index, according to a report by the Intesa Sanpaolo Studies and Research Department, showed a growth rate of 2016% in 5,0, while it recorded +3,6% in the first ten months of the 2017. The sectors that last year marked the most important positive changes are those of refined petroleum products (+14,6%), wood and its finished products (+12,4%), means of transport (+30,7 %), while chemical products (-14,0%) and metal products (-10,7%) fell.
At the same time, in Serbia the industry sees the prevalence of agro-food, chemicals, metallurgy, means of transport, machinery, rubber and plastics. The volume index of industrial production in 2016 showed a growth rate of +4,7%: in the first ten months of 2017 there was an annual variation of 3,5% and the sectors that recorded the most positive changes important are those of mechanical machinery, metal and base metal products, rubber and plastics, chemicals and electrical appliances. Vehicles were down, penalized by the strikes and the production stoppage last summer.
Data for 2016 on Croatia's trade with the rest of the world show an increase in the dollar value of imports (+6,1%) to 21,8 billion and exports (+6,3%) to 13,6 bln. In the first ten months of last year there was a further recovery in trade, equal to over 13% (32,9 billion): exports amounted to 12,7 billion (+14,8%) while imports reached 20,2 billion (+12,1%). The latter mainly consist of machinery, agri-food products, minerals, chemical products, textiles and clothing, while exports see the prevalence of machinery, agri-food products, chemical products, minerals, textiles and clothing. If we look at the destinations, exchanges are mainly undertaken with European countries (87,5%), in particular with Germany (14,0%), Italy (12,6%), Slovenia (11,2%), while between Asian markets (7,9%), China stands out (2,0%). At the same time, data for 2016 on Serbia's trade with the rest of the world show an increase in the value of imports (+5,5%) to 19,2 billion and exports (+10,9%) to 14,8 .XNUMX billion
Furthermore, in the first ten months of 2017 there was a further recovery in trade of over 13% (31,9 billion), where exports amounted to 14,0 billion (+13,5%) while imports reached 17,9 billion (+13,0%). The latter mainly consist of machinery, minerals, means of transport, chemical products, while exports see the prevalence of agro-food products, machinery, metals, means of transport, rubber and plastic. Exchanges are mainly with European countries (86,2%), in particular with Germany (12,9%), Italy (12,2%), Russia (6,8%), while between Asian countries (10,1 %) once again China emerges (4,8%).
The stock of FDI entering Croatia at the end of 2016 amounted to 27,6 billion dollars (55,5% of GDP), where European countries were the largest investors with Italy in third place (10,7% ). The main target sectors were manufacturing, financial services and commerce. The stock of Italian FDI in Croatia in 2016 was around 2,8 billion euros: there are over 460 companies active in the energy, financial and insurance, textile and timber sectors. The stock of FDI in Serbia at the end of 2016 was instead equal to 30,3 billion (68,5% of GDP), where the major investors were the European countries, with Italy in eighth place (5% of the total).
The main target sectors are those related to manufacturing, financial and insurance activities, trade and mining. With reference to trade with Italy, based on Istat data, in 2016 our exports to Croatia fell by 1,0% and reached 2,6 billion euros, while imports grew by 8,3% to 1,5 billion. Trade in the first eight months of 2017 marked an increase of 15,2%, reaching 3,0 billion: exports increased by 18,4% to 2,0 billion, driven by refined petroleum products, while imports they amounted to 1,0 billion (+9,5%), thanks to the lively performance of the minor sectors.
If instead we look at trade flows with Serbia, in 2016 Italian exports grew by 2,3% and reached 1,5 billion euros, while imports fell by 2,0%, to 1,8 billion. Italy's trade with Serbia in the first eight months of 2017 marked an increase of 4,1%, reaching 2,3 billion: exports increased by 8,0% to 1,1 billion, driven by metals, while imports amounted to 1,2 billion, with an increase of 0,9%, penalized by means of transport.
