Invitation to Greek businesses to expand their activities in Croatian, addressed the head of the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Embassy of Greece in Zagreb, Michalis Harokopos, Advisor OEY B, during an informative presentation at the Athens Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Harokopos stated that there are significant growth prospects for the Croatian economy, and in particular, he emphasized the following advantages: Its recent entry into the Eurozone, which is expected to facilitate transactions with Greece, the lack of tariffs and customs controls, the upward trend in the per capita income, the developed banking system, the growing tourism (in 2022 it exceeded 15 million arrivals), the interest in the Mediterranean diet and the existence of common distribution networks with neighboring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.

He made a special mention in three branches of the Croatian market, which are of special interest for exports by Greek small and medium enterprises: food and construction, building materials and IT – communications.

More detailed in the food industry, the average annual growth rate of the expenditure for the period 2022-2026 is expected to reach 4% and the expenditure from 7.1 billion euros will reach 8.1 billion. euro. Greek companies could export products due to the increased demand, such as snacks and ready-to-eat meals, fruit, but also frozen pastries, such as pies, cheese pies, etc.

In the construction and building materials industry, Mr. Harokopos pointed out, that numerous building restoration projects are being implemented after the 2020 earthquakes and there is a great demand for building materials. Furthermore, building renovations are being carried out, with the aim of upgrading the energy efficiency of the buildings, due to the increase in energy prices. At the same time, important public projects are being implemented, especially in the field of railway infrastructure.

In the industry, it concerns information and communication technologies, the average annual growth in the period 2022-2026, amounts to 6.4% on an annual basis with the expenditure amounting to 2.4 billion euros in 2026. It is noted that more than 30% of Croatian businesses provide the option of e-commerce, when in 2018 the specific percentage did not exceed 18%. Mr. Harokopos classified the sectors with significant opportunities for businesses in this sector as telecommunications, financial services, healthcare and retail.