Politics wants to boost export management with fresh money – Diepresse.com
Companies that sell their goods abroad had a hard year in 2024. Almost all markets declined. But the export industry in particular should bring the expected upswing. With a special budget, the government now wants to help bring domestic companies to new markets.
The export industry is said to bring the longed -for upswing in Austria. That said Wifo economist Werner Hölzl Only last week To the « press ». The export -oriented economy in the country has been suffering massively for months.
It is located in the third year of recession in a row, and Austria will not be the only industrial country in the world to achieve growth this year, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a month ago. According to the IMF, the euro zone should grow by 0.8 percent instead of one percent. A weak result, because in 2025 the IMF experts predict growth of 1.8 percent, and for the world’s industrialized countries, the fund expects 1.4 percent growth.
Together with the cost and increasingly increasing competition abroad, the overall location is a perfect storm. The calls to help the economy towards politics have long been loud.
Weaken export market
A look at the export numbers of the past two years shows how difficult the exporting companies are currently. In 2023, the value of the exported was around 201 billion euros. In 2024, this number shrank to 191 billion euros, according to the statistics Austria.
Markant: In eight of the ten most important export countries in which Austrian companies sell their products, burglaries were recorded. There are about a quarter of the decline on these eight countries. In 2023, goods worth EUR 135 billion were exported to the top-Zehn countries, in 2024 only 132.2 billion euros. This results in a minus of EUR 2.8 billion.
The most important export market in Germany decreased by 2.9 percent, the third most important market Italy shrank by 4.9 percent, and the fourth most important market, Switzerland, reduced by 4.8 percent. Only in two markets there was growth: in the United States (second place) and in China (ninth place). The two countries recorded an export plus of 10.1 percent (USA) and 4.5 percent (China). They are also the only European countries in the ten.
Impulse by special budget
With a one -time special budget of EUR 15 million, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWET) now wants to support Austrian companies in its export business. The declared goal: to raise the additional export potential of EUR 20.8 billion by 2027 with the additional means.
« This could make up for the burglary from 2024 in the next two years, » estimates Harald Mahrer, President of the Chamber of Commerce (WKO). The slump was questionable, because there was only one during the first Pandemie Year, « otherwise there was always growth, » he said.
Two reasons are responsible for the declines: Austria’s companies could hardly offer hardly any more competitive prices on the world market due to the extremely rising costs of energy, work and bureaucracy, and the competition is becoming stronger. In other countries, there would now be a comparable quality products in other countries with far lower manufacturing costs. « In particular, products from Mexico, Indonesia or Vietnam can keep up with the Austrian quality. Partners will choose the better price-performance ratio at the end of the day, » says Mahrer. « The competition doesn’t sleep. »
On new markets
The solution from the Ministry and the Chamber: new export markets in which a lot of potential slumbering. The Industrial Science Institute (IWI) has raised what these are. So there are opportunities for infrastructure, environmental technology, electronics, life science and industrial delivery, especially in North and South America, the Western Balkans, in the Golf region, in India, Japan and Southeast Asia (see graphic).
Just last week there was a delegation from Austria at the Expo in Osaka in Japan, where one tried to do business relationships, says Mahrer.
More money for « go international »
Despite US President Donald Trump’s erratic customs policy, the WKO president believes in the United States as a future market. « It is not eaten as hot as it is cooked, » he said. « There are mutual dependencies », and a sampling of the US economy will not work without foreign know-how, Mahrer is certain.
The additional 15 million euros should flow into the existing « Go International » initiative of the WKO. The initiative is budgeted annually with EUR 13 million, the 15 million euros are added.
Companies from the defined industries that want to enter the markets with potential should travel to tailor -made advice, travel to make business contacts or to receive marketing measures. « As soon as the budget has been decided », the money should flow, says Economic Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) at the joint presentation on Tuesday in front of journalists. In addition, there should be so-called resilience coaching, which should support companies in diversifying their sales markets.
