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Analysts: Foreign Trade Slovakia's Achilles Heel During Crisis
Sunday 13 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 13 (TASR) - Slovakia's exports and imports have been declining since the beginning of the year due to the global economic crisis, analysts approached by TASR said on Sunday.
"The demand from abroad, which used to be the driving force of the Slovak economy in past years, has become its Achilles heel during the crisis," said Postova Banka analyst Eva Sadovska.
Foreign trade recorded a surplus of €1.01 billion in the period between January-October 2009. At the same time, however, the exports were down by 24.6 percent and imports down by 27.3 percent during this period. This was mainly caused by consumer austerity and weakening of industrial activity.
Decline in the output of firms has been reflected in lay-offs and salary freezes. "The trade surplus plays a positive role in the results of the gross domestic product, however," said Sadovska.
The foreign trade balance is expected to slump into a deficit of around €90 million in November, according to VUB Bank senior analyst Martin Lenko.
"We see the risks for the foreign trade in the end of the 2Q10 and the second half of the next year, when the effects of (Government) stimulation measures will expire," said UniCredit Bank analyst Lubomir Korsnak.
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