Exports to Croatia up 23%

Portugal’s exports of goods and services to Croatia which joins the Euro Zone from January 2023, have risen by 23% on 2020 to €57 million.

However, the increase fell short of the €72 million in exports posted in 2019. According to the Portuguese Office of Strategies and Studies (Ministry of the Economy) commercial exchanges were robust in 2021, particularly in terms of Portuguese exports of industrial components.
Croatia exports to Portugal stood at US$70.57 Million during 2021, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.
The former Yugoslav nation has been long in pursuit of closer integration with EU and switches to the single currency on January 1.
The switch from the ‘kuna’ should bring benefits, say economists, because Croatia relies on the single currency area for more than half its external trade, two-thirds of foreign direct investment and roughly 70 per cent of its tourists. It will also be a symbolic boost for European unity just as Russia is trying to disrupt the bloc’s opposition to its war in Ukraine. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde called the addition “a vote of confidence for the euro area” and said Croatia would benefit from the “shield of the euro” according to the Financial Times.