Confederation appeals to the government to support export

The Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, its Exporters Platform and the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic have made an appeal to the Czech government of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka to help to form a fully functional system of export financement.

„We don’t want to have any subsidies but an offering of credit to solid customers and good projects in risk territories where the companies can’t keep their end up without the state help,“ the authors of the appeal adressed to the government wrote.

The appeal has been supported, at the press conference in Prague Marriott Hotel, by a personal presence of the Confederation of Industry vice-president Radek Špicar, Exporters Platform secretary general Inez Krautmannová and Chamber of Commerce president Vladimír Dlouhý.

„We want to have the same conditions as our foreign competitors have,“ Špicar said. „All industrially developed countries help to the customers of their exporters to gain credit. Without it, it is impossible to export to some territories.“

Two fifth of the Czech exporters, as a survey by the Confederation of Industry shows, express concern that the proper export financement as well as the Czech Export Bank (ČEB) and Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP) insurance would be available to them in the next future.

More than one half of Czech exporters pointed out that their business will be influenced by the demand restraint in Germany and three quarter stressed that it will be affected by the conflict in Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia.

Nearly one half of the respondents await that Czech export will raise this year. Only one fifth of them is afraid that their export volume will decrease. About one hundred companies of which 56 have a turnover of more than 100 million euros (3,63 million euros) have participated in the survey.