Smart ones know what export is for

The sixth conference of the Lider’s Club of Exporters was held at the Congress Center Forum in Zagreb, under the slogan „Smart ones know what export is for“. The Export Conference is the most important annual activity of the Lider’s Club of Exporters, a project initiated to sensitize the public, and especially those who make political and economic decisions, on the need for stronger export incentives as a prerequisite for economic and GDP growth.

Opening a conference attended by 150 participants, Lider’s Editor-in-Chief Miodrag Šajatović reminded that export growth is the most important factor of GDP growth. Minister of Economy Darko Horvat noted that GDP has been growing, primarily due to the strong state contribution to the implementation of large investment projects. At the round table with the topic “EU vs. the rest of the world”, which was moderated by the Lider’s deputy editor-in-chief Manuela Tašler, along with the President of the Management Board of AD Plastik Group, director of Šerif Group, Damir Pašić, also participated. In the conversation they tried to get the answer to the question whether less demanding, populous markets outside the EU were a better and more prospect opportunity for exporters. “The main markets for the AD Plastik Group, the automotive component manufacturer, are the European Union and Russia. There are no major differences in conducting business since it is a business whose quality standards are always at the same level. The lack of automotive industry in Croatia is one of the challenges we are facing, and there are a number of situations that make difficulties to our competitiveness in the global market. For example, labor costs are up to 40 percent lower in some other countries where we conduct business,” noted Došen, among other things. He recalled that AD Plastik has invested between HRK 250 and 300 million in development and growth and it has employed 300 new workers.