Czech Republic's Top Imports & Exports 2008
Major Czech Exports are Electrical, Automotive and Aircraft Parts
Oct 14, 2009
The Czech Republic’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was an estimated US$217.1 billion in 2008, making the Czech Republic the world’s 40th richest country.
With a population of 10.2 million Czechs who enjoyed an average GDP of $26,100 per person last year, The Czech Republic placed 50th among other nations in terms of GDP per capita.
As the world’s 30th biggest exporting nation, the Czech Republic shipped $145.7 billion worth of exports in 2008. About half of Czech exports were machinery and transport equipment while other Czech exports include raw materials, fuels and chemicals. Based on 2008 statistics, top customers for the Czech Republic`s exports are Germany (30.6%), Slovakia (9.2%), Poland (6.5%), France (5.3%), the United Kingdom (4.8%), Austria (4.7%) and Italy (4.6%).
According to the CIA World Factbook, the Czech Republic imported $139.4 billion worth of foreign goods last year. Major commodities imported into the Czech Republic mirror that country’s exports: machinery and transport equipment, raw materials, fuels and chemicals. Leading suppliers to The Czech Republic were Germany (30.3%), Slovakia (6.6%), Poland (6.4%), Russia (6.2%), Netherlands (5.6%), Austria (5.2%), China 4.9% and Italy (4.1%).
In total, the Czech Republic’s international trade amounted to $285.1 billion or 131.3% in relation to its overall GDP. This compares with roughly 25% for the U.S. and 60% for Canada.
Czech Republic Trade with the U.S.
Last year, Czech exports to America rose 5.7% to $2.6 billion. Over that same period, the Czech Republic bought $1.4 billion worth of imported U.S. goods – an increase of 9.2%.
After subtracting imports from exports, one can quickly calculate the Czech Republic’s trade surplus with the U.S. to be $1.2 billion in 2008.
The lists below present the top 10 exports and imports that American and Czech enterprises exchanged in 2008. The fastest-growing trade product categories are also listed.
Czech Republic’s Top Exports to America
The following 10 Czech exports generated 49.3% of the total value of shipments from the Czech Republic to America in 2008.
- Electric apparatus and parts … US$219.7 million, up 19.7% from 2007 (8.6% of US imports from Czech Republic)
- Other vehicle parts and accessories … $191.9 million, up 18.2% (7.5%)
- Civilian aircraft parts … $177.4 million, up 18.4% (6.9%)
- Automotive tires and tubes … $130.4 million, up 32.4% (5.1%)
- Other industrial machinery … $108.6 million, up 14.1% (4.2%)
- Generators and transformers … $102 million, up 52.6% (4%)
- Non-advanced iron and steel products … $95.6 million, down 6.2% (3.7%)
- Oilfield and drilling equipment … $91.6 million, up 106% (3.6%)
- Toys and sporting goods including bicycles … $76.9 million, up 7.2% (3%)
- Civilian aircraft engines … $70.2 million, up 29.1% (2.7%).
Fastest-Growing Czech Exports to the U.S.
Although the following product categories generated relatively small sales, 9 Czech exports to America increased by triple-digit percentages from 2007.
- Specialized mining and oil processing equipment … US$7.5 million, up 501.9% from 2007
- Video equipment (VCRs, DVDs, TV receivers) … $14.5 million, up 499.1%
- Molding, shingles and wallboard … $10.9 million, up 416.2%
- Fruits and preparations, including frozen juices … $63.2 million, up 169.8%
- Miscellaneous non-ferrous metals … $12.6 million, up 248.1%
- Farming materials including farm animals … $1.1 million, up 147%
- Nuclear fuels … $3.3 million, up 123.9%
- Soft beverages and processed coffee … $1.2 million, up 111.3%
- Oilfield and drilling equipment … $91.6 million, up 106%
- Bakery and confectionary products … $3.8 million, up 86.4%.
Czech Republic’s Top Imports from America
The following top 10 exports from America to the Czech Republic accounted for 47.1% of overall Czech imports from the U.S.
- Civilian aircraft … US$174.5 million, down 4.6% from 2007 (12.7% of US exports to Czech Republic)
- Computer accessories … $78.4 million, down 16.9% (5.7%)
- Medicinal equipment … $71.7 million, up 20.7% (5.2%)
- Electric apparatus … $68.7 million, down 6.9% (5%)
- Telecommunications equipment … $58.5 million, up 15.2% (4.2%)
- Agricultural machinery and equipment … $48.8 million, up 51.9% (3.5%)
- Generators and accessories … $40.3 million, down 44.1% (2.9%)
- Other industrial machines … $39.1 million, up 3% (2.8%)
- Passenger cars … $35.5 million, up 102.8% (2.6%)
- Excavating machinery … $33.8 million, up 398.2% (2.5%).
Fastest-Growing Czech Imports from the U.S.
Like the fastest-growing exports from the Czech Republic, the top 10 list of Czech growth imports were for relatively small dollar amounts. However, all 10 of these import categories were up by triple-digits of no less than 198%.
- Steelmaking materials … US$9.6 million, up 1,468% from 2007
- Chemical fertilizers … $1.5 million, up 491.4%
- Non-farm tractors and parts … $6.6 million, up 491%
- Excavating machinery … $33.8 million, up 398.2%
- Inorganic chemicals … $7.4 million, up 339.2%
- Non-agricultural foods … $1.1 million, up 288.3%
- Precious metals other than gold … $10 million, up 283.9%
- Fruits and preparations including frozen juices … $1.1 million, up 235.4%
- Pleasure boats and motors … $3.4 million, up 230.5%
- Corn … $1.3 million, up 198.2%.
Comparative Trade Advantages
During 2008, the Czech Republic exported $219.7 million worth of electric apparatus and parts to the U.S. while importing $68.7 million of comparable products from America.
These Czech-American trade statistics show that Czech Republic has a comparative advantage over the U.S. in the electric apparatus trade between the two nations.
On the other hand, America delivered $35.5 million worth of passenger cars to Czech Republic in 2008 compared with $977,000 in Czech automobiles that American clients imported.
That the U.S. shipped to Czech Republic over 35 times the value of imported Czech automobiles clearly shows that America has a comparative advantage in trading passenger cars with the Czech Republic.
Sources
This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau- Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication.
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