Exports in the first three months of this year were USD2.35 billion, up 19.8 per cent from the same time in 2005.
Monthly export growth rates oscillated a lot given that the January rate was 25.5 per cent, the February rate three percent and the March growth rate was 31.5 per cent, the Croatian Chamber of the Economy's Centre for Macroeconomic Analyses said in the latest Economic Trends bulletin.
The high export growth rate registered in March was due to the high value of exported ships. The USD160 million monthly value of exported ships was the highest since October 2003.
Imports in this year's first three months were USD4.73 billion, up 16.5 per cent from the same time in 2005.
The increase in prices of oil and oil products on the world market was a significant factor in the growth of imports given that the value of imported oil and oil products accounted for 43 per cent of the overall growth.
Although exports grew faster than imports, the trade deficit continued to grow, reaching USD2.4 billion, an increase of 13.5 per cent from the first three months of 2005.
The faster growth of exports, however, increased the export-import ratio from 48.2 per cent in the first three months of 2005 to 49.6 per cent in this year's first three months.