FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA − Provisional Data January – February 2025 and January – March 2025

According to provisional data, from January to February 2025, total export of the Republic of Croatia amounted to 4.0 billion euro. At the same time, total import was 6.9 billion euro. Foreign trade deficit amounted to 2.9 billion euro.

In the period from January to February 2025, coverage of import by export was 57.5%.

According to the First Results, in the period from January to March 2025, total export of the Republic of Croatia amounted to 6.1 billion euro, while total import was 10.7 billion euro. Foreign trade deficit amounted to 4.6 billion euro.

According to the First Results, coverage of import by export was 57.1% from January to March 2025.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Sources and methods of data collection

The data source for statistics on trading in goods with EU Member States is the Intrastat form used by the reporting units to report on arrivals and/or dispatches on a monthly basis, that is, for each month in which goods physically enter or leave the territory of the Republic of Croatia. As of 1 January 2024, all goods included in purchase and sale transactions must be reported to Intrastat based on the month of the creation of the taxable event. The reporting units are all business entities, value added tax payers whose value of trading in goods with EU Member States exceeds the exemption threshold determined for the reference year. For 2025, an exemption threshold of 450 thousand euro for arrivals and of 300 thousand euro for dispatches has been determined. In order to achieve complete harmonisation with the EU methodology and legislation, data on foreign trade in goods have been supplemented with trade value below the exemption threshold after being estimated on the basis of data on supplies and acquisitions of goods in/from EU Member States provided by the Tax Administration Office of the Republic of Croatia.

The First Results of the statistics concerning the foreign trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia are an integral part of this First Release and they contain the estimate of the trade value below the exemption threshold for the entire period they refer to.

The data source for statistics on trading in goods with third countries, that is, non-EU countries, are customs declarations on export and import of goods. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics receives the reviewed customs declarations from the Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia in the form of data records.

Following basic methodological recommendations of the UN Statistics Division and Eurostat, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics statistically processes and disseminates the collected Intrastat and Extrastat data as unique information on foreign trade in goods of the Republic of Croatia.

Legal basis

The legal basis for conducting the Intrastat survey is the European legislation related to the statistics on trading in goods between EU Member States, the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics, the Official Statistics Act (NN, Nos 25/20 and 155/23), the Annual Implementation Plan of Statistical Activities of the Republic of Croatia for 2025 (NN, No. 29/25) and the Customs Administration Act (NN, Nos 68/13, 30/14, 115/16, 39/19, 98/19, 155/23 and 36/24). More detailed Notes on Methodology for this survey are published on the website of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics - Intrastat (gov.hr).

The legal basis for Extrastat is the European legislation related to the statistics on trading in goods with third countries, the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1225 of 27 July 2021 specifying the arrangements for the data exchanges pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197, as regards the Member State of extra-Union export and the obligations of reporting units, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/235 of 8 February 2021 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards formats and codes of common data requirements, certain rules on surveillance and the competent customs office for placing goods under a customs procedure, the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704 of 14 July 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council by further specifying the details for the statistical information to be provided by tax and customs authorities and amending its Annexes V and VI, the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/234 of 7 December 2020 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 as regards common data requirements, and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 as regards the codes to be used in certain forms, the Act on the Implementation of the Customs Legislation of the European Union (NN, Nos 40/16 and 52/25), the Official Statistics Act (NN, Nos 25/20 and 155/23), the Annual Implementation Plan of Statistical Activities of the Republic of Croatia for 2025 (NN, No. 29/25) and the Customs Administration Act (NN, Nos 68/13, 30/14, 115/16, 39/19, 98/19, 155/23 and 36/24).

Coverage and comparability

Statistics on foreign trade in goods include all goods exported from or imported into the country. Data on foreign trade in goods include both export and import based on gross inward and outward processing.

Statistical value of goods is the value of goods at the Croatian border. Values for export, i.e. dispatches, are shown as an FOB-type value, while values for import, i.e. arrivals, they are shown as a CIF-type value.

Amounts expressed in foreign currencies are converted into euro and US dollars according to the monthly exchange rate lists determined for the reporting month. The mean exchange rate of the Croatian National Bank is used.

In certain tables, the sum total may not equal the sum of individual figures due to the rounding to thousands.

Data by type of activities have been presented according to the NKD 2007 (NN, Nos 58/07 and 72/07 - correction), which entered into force on 1 January 2008 and is based on the European classification NACE, Rev. 2, which is obligatory in EU Member States. The Decision on the National Classification of Activities, 2007 version – NKD 2007, will be applied in line with the transitional provision from Article 6 of the Decision on the National Classification of Activities, 2025 version – NKD 2025 (NN, No. 47/24): ''For statistical and analytical purposes of official statistics of the Republic of Croatia, in the transitional period until 31 December 2027, the Decision on the National Classification of Activities, 2007 version – NKD 2007 (NN, Nos 58/07 and 72/07 – correction) shall be concurrently applied'' and the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics.

Data are presented using a production approach by which export and import data are reported according to the manufacturing activity from which the product originates.

Goods listed under export and import are classified, for statistical needs, according to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC, Rev. 4).

Data on export are shown by countries of destination, while two methodological criteria have been applied, by which data on import are shown by countries. In Extrastat, data on import are shown by countries of origin of goods, while, in Intrastat, data on arrivals of goods are presented by countries of dispatch.

OPEC membership is subject to frequent changes. More detailed information about OPEC member countries is published on the website https://www.opec.org/.

Only customs declarations containing the date of acceptance in a customs office in a particular month are processed for that month, as well as Intrastat forms submitted for the reporting month. Already issued data for previous months are changed during the current year in order to classify subsequently received and/or corrected Intrastat forms and customs declarations for earlier periods.

Monthly data are corrected until final data processing for the current year is done (the middle of the next year). Monthly data are considered provisional until the final processing of the current year and dissemination of final data is done.

Data on foreign trade in goods are available in the time series published on the website of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics under Statistics in Line; Economy – Basic Indicators (data from 2000) and Foreign Trade in Goods (data from 2010).

Abbreviations

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
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Persons responsible:
Milenka Primorac Čačić, Director of Business Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Boro Žderić and Maja Perša

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