Key statistics (for last 3 years)
 

Economic Indicators	2001	2002	2003
GDP	Euro 19.5 billion	Euro 22.4 billion	Euro 23.7 billion
Per Capita Income	Euro 4400	Euro 5100	Euro 5400
GDP Growth	3.8%	5.2%	5%
Inflation	2.6%	2.3%	1.8%
Total Imports	US$9 billion	US$10.71 billion	US$14.1 billion
Total Exports	US$4.6 billion	US$4.90 billion	US$ 6.1 billion

Population 

(2001 census) : 4.4 million 

Ethnic Composition : 89.63% Croats, 4.5% Serbs, 6% others

Key products imported

Leather & leather products, coffee & coffee substitutes, textile yarns, readymade garments, organo-inorganic compounds, meat & meat preparations, dairy products & eggs, beverages and tobacco, mineral fuels and lubricants, cereals & cereal preparations, floor coverings, footwear, crude minerals, medical and pharmaceutical products, fertilizers (other than those of group 272), compounds with nitrogen function, shells and other water invertebrates, fresh, salted, etc refined oil, basic chemicals, electrical equipments, transport vehicles and machineries. 

Top 10-15 trading partners: 

Croatia’s top 15 trading partners for 2003 are as follows:

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with various countries:

The Republic of Croatia has signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak, Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania, Lithuania, Serbia & Montenegro and Moldova. Croatia also concluded FTA with EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) on June 22, 2001. Since March 1, 2003, the Republic of Croatia is a full-fledged member of CEFTA. Croatia has liberalized its trade with 31 European countries and bases more than 80% of its foreign trade on free trade principles. 

Trade agreements with India:

Following Agreements/ MoUs have been signed in the economic field so far :

• Agreement on Trade & Economic Cooperation (1994)
• Maritime Transport Agreement (1997) 
• Air Services Agreement (2000)
• Bilateral Investment Protection & Promotion Agreement (2001) 
• Agricultural Cooperation Agreement (2002).
• MoU between the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development 
  (HBOR) and the EXIM Bank of India : signed on 29.12.2000.
• MoU between Export Credit & Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. (ECGC) and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR): signed at New Delhi on 13 November 2002. 

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement: Negotiations on the Agreement have been completed during the visit of a delegation from Ministry of Finance in November, 2003 and the Agreement is expected to be signed soon. 

Trade statistics with India : 

Figures of India’s trade with Croatia as per the Croatian government statistics are as follows:- 

Main items of Import are electrical devices, pharmaceutical products, organic-inorganic compounds, machines for manufacturing textile and leather, leather products, coffee & coffee substitutes, textile yarns, readymade garments, plain metal products, water steam and other steam powered turbines, wool and other animal hair, fish, musical instruments, rolling bearings, wood and wood products, etc. 

Top 50-100 items of import on 8 digit HTC basis :

Croatia’s top items of import (for 2003) and their respective value : 

Sl. No.	Items of Import	Value (in ‘000 USD)
	Food and live animals	1 000 874
1	Live animals	61 900
2	Meat and meat preparations	83 979
3	Dairy products and eggs	77 056
4	Fish and preparations	82 740
5	Cereals and cereal preparations	106 345
6	Vegetables and fruit	234 162
7	Sugars, sugar preparations and honey	64 822
8	Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices*	98 603
9	Feeding stuff for animals (not including unmilled cereals)	81 491
10	Miscellaneous edible products and preparations	109 777
11	Beverages and tobacco	116 478
12	Beverages	90 075
13	Tobacco and tobacco manufactures	26 403
14	Mining of metal ores	5 580
15	Other mining and quarrying	48 067
	Manufacturing	12 524 961
16	Manufacture of food products and beverages	887 734
17	Manufacture of tobacco products	5 465
18	Manufacture of textiles*	462 578
19	Manufacture of wearing apparel; dressing and dyeing of fur*	286 034
20	Tanning and dressing of leather; manufacture of luggage, handbags, saddlery, harness and footwear*	266 242
21	Manufacture of wood and products of wood and cork, plaiting materials	212 780
22	Manufacture of pulp, paper and paper products	384 072
23	Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media	109 380
24	Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel	320 996
25	Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products	1 463 474
26	Manufacture of rubber and plastic products	508 436
27	Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products	333 444
28	Manufacture of basic metals	738 712
29	Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment	552 565
30	Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.	1 624 942
31	Manufacture of office machinery and computers	378 897
32	Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c.*	429 310
33	Manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus	652 807
34	Manufacture of medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks	366 840
35	Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers	1 542 235
36	Manufacture of other transport equipment	585 517
37	Manufacture of furniture, manufacturing n.e.c.	412 500
38	Animal and vegetable oils and fats	40 936
39	Animal oils and fats	2 666
40	Fixed vegetable fats and oils	30 683
41	Animal and vegetable oils and fats	7 587
42	Chemicals	1 559 444
43	Organic chemicals*	159 886
44	Inorganic chemicals*	53 190
45	Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials	117 735
46	Medical and pharmaceutical products	400 593
47	Essential oils and perfume materials; toilet, polishing and cleaning preparations	244 968
48	Fertilizers (other than those of group 272)	52 822
49	Plastics in primary forms	153 237
50	Plastics in non-primary forms	181 188
51	Chemical materials and products, n.e.c.*	195 826
52	Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material	2 661 109
53
54	Leather, leather manufactures and dressed fur skins*	89 581
55	Rubber manufactures	139 110
56	Cork and wood manufactures	133 722
57	Paper, paperboard and articles of paper pulp	368 601
58	Textile yarn, fabrics and related products *	427 936
59	Non-metallic mineral manufactures	290 947
60	Iron and steel	522 406
61	Non-ferrous metals	169 428
62	Manufactures of metals, n.e.c.	519 378
63	Machinery and transport equipment	5 261 161
64	Power generating machinery and equipment	114 979
65	Machinery specialized for particular industries	560 604
66	Metal working machinery	71 749
67	General industrial machinery and equipment	742 625
68	Office machines and automatic data processing machines	378 876
69	Telecommunication apparatus	458 552
70	Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances*	836 012
71	Road vehicles	1 570 869
72	Other transport equipment	526 895
73	Miscellaneous manufactured articles*	1 645 715
74	Prefabricated buildings; sanitary plumbing and lighting fixtures and fittings	107 369
75	Furniture and parts thereof	262 172
76	Travel goods	24 209
77	Wearing apparel*	330 579
78	Footwear*	155 896
79	Scientific and controlling instruments	201 532
80	Photographic apparatus; watches and clocks	78 552
81	Miscellaneous manufactured goods, n.e.c. *	485 407
82	Commodities and transactions, n.e.c.	35 897
83	Special transactions and commodities	-
84	Coin (other than gold coin)	-
85	Gold, non-monetary	35 897

The number of items from India (*) finding place in the above list : 15

Focus products for promoting Indian exports :

Fruits e.g., Indian Mangoes, papaya, Guava, Lichi, banana etc., and Vegetables, like green mint/coriander leaves, bitter-gourd, ginger, & other vegetables. Various Indian spices and herbs, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Granite, Shipbuilding, agricultural products/machinery, investment in tourism related projects like Indian restaurant, hotels on the coastline of Croatia etc. 

Investments/Collaborations with India : 

• PLIVA, the pharmaceutical giant of Croatia signed an agreement with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories in November, 2003 covering development and marketing for eleven oncology products. Under the agreement, Dr. Reddy's will develop the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and prepare the drug master file (DMF), while PLIVA will be responsible for developing the formulations and preparing the dossier for filing marketing authorization (MA) applications. By the same contract, PLIVA has been granted exclusive marketing rights for eleven Central and East European (CEE) countries, semi-exclusive rights for the rest of CEE countries and Western Europe and non-exclusive rights for the US. On the other hand, partnership with Pliva will introduce Dr. Reddy’s into the East and Central European market, consolidating its commercial presence in the region. Pliva has also opened a representative office in Mumbai for conducting feasibility study to explore possibilities of doing research and development and identifying reliable partners for manufacture of generic drugs in India. M/s Podravka and M/s Belupo are also engaged in discussions with M/s Ranbaxy of India for cooperation in pharmaceuticals sector.

• M/s. Jul-Com of Croatia had signed a contract with Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) of Chennai to be the exclusive dealer for TAFE tractors in Croatia. President Mr. Stjepan Mesi?, who inaugurated this ‘sales and service centre’ of M/s Jul-Com, expressed happiness at the performance of these tractors, which are being increasingly used by the Croatian farmers.

• Foreign investment in Croatia during the first nine months of 2003 was around US$1.18 billion. The total foreign investment during the period 1993 to September’2003 amounted to US$8.75 billion. In 2003, most of the investment was in property (19%), followed by retailing (16%) and banking (13%). Most of the investments came from Austria (30%) followed by United States (25%), Germany (14.4%), Holland and Slovenia. Croatian companies' investments abroad amounted to US$41.95 million in the first nine months of 2003 and to US$1.12 billion from 1993 to September 2003. However, no investment has come from India so far. 

Promotional activities planned over the next 12 months : 

• ITPO’s participation in Zagreb International (Autumn) Fair, 2004 scheduled to be held from 14-19 September, 2004.

• Visit of Croatian Minister of Economy, Labour & Entrepreneurship to India in November, 2004.

• Visit of a study team from India in connection with setting up a custom bonded warehouse at the Port of Rijeka for storing Indian products for export to Croatia as also to the region to promote bilateral trade between India and the Central and East European countries . 

• Subsequent to the liberalization of issue of visa to Croatia, businessmen from India have started coming to Croatia and are looking forward to expanding their activities in this region by making investments in hotel and tourism related industries.