The COVID-19 pandemic has directly affected international trade in goods; therefore, in the period from January to September 2020, its effects on the foreign trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia are also noticeable. According to provisional data, from January to September, the total export of the Republic of Croatia amounted to 80.2 billion kuna, while the total import was 126.5 billion kuna. Foreign trade deficit amounted to 46.3 billion kuna in the observed period, which was 17.5% lower than in the same period of the previous year.
In the period from January to September 2020, coverage of import by export was 63.4%, while in the period from January to September 2019, it amounted to 59.9%.
In the first nine months of 2020, the Republic of Croatia realised almost 70% of the total export with ten most important foreign trade partners. Among the EU Member States to which the Republic of Croatia exported the most goods, export decreased by 1.9%, namely to Germany (5.3%) and Italy (15.7%), while export to Slovenia decreased by 5.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. A decrease in export in the aforementioned period was also recorded among the most important foreign trade partners outside the European Union. Therefore, export to Bosnia and Herzegovina decreased by 18.5% and to Serbia by 1.5%. An increase in export in the observed period was recorded only in export to Hungary (petroleum and oil) and to the United States of America (immunological products, revolvers and pistols).
The most important foreign trade partners from which the Republic of Croatia imported goods in the first nine months of 2020 were mostly EU Member States, which accounted for about 80% of the total import of the Republic of Croatia. In the period from January to September 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year, the largest decrease was recorded in import from Italy (20.8%) and Hungary (18.2%), while the largest increase was recorded in import from Belgium (85.7%). Such a significant increase in foreign trade with Belgium is a result of the import of pharmaceutical products.
A significant increase in import was also recorded in import from China (20.3%), relating to wind-powered generating sets, bridges and bridge-sections and portable computers.
In the observed period, an increase is noticeable in the import of portable computers. From January to September 2020, the value of import of portable computers amounted to 640.6 million kuna, which was an increase of 83.3 million kuna compared to the same period of the previous year. The most portable computers, more than half of the total value of their import (70.4%), were imported from China (35.3%), Austria (22.6) and Germany (12.5%).
