With new technologies

New market to boost Carinthian exports

A new market could give Carinthian exports a boost.(Bild: Marcel Tratnik)

Carinthia's export industry has had to put up with a lot in recent years. This is because bureaucracy and the like have put a massive strain on local companies. However, a new market could now turn things around. This will also be the focus of the Chamber of Commerce's Export Day. 

"Exports are the backbone of the Carinthian economy," emphasizes Carinthia's Chamber of Commerce President Jürgen Mandl. But the figures for the past few years have taken a massive toll on the export industry in Carinthia. "There are countries where it is much more attractive to produce," says Mandl. These can be found in Asia, for example, where wage and production costs are much lower. 

Bureaucracy as an export inhibitor
But it's not just the high energy, production and wage costs that are a deterrent, European bureaucracy also plays its part. "There are suppliers who say we no longer deliver to Europe because the Supply Chain Act brings with it a lot of red tape," explains Mandl. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly affected by the bureaucratic hurdles.

But a lot of complaining still won't help. "Our export companies are forced to break new ground," says Hemma Kircher-Schneider, Head of Foreign Trade and EU at the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce. And that's why we have to look for new markets.

Carinthia's timber exports should also not be underestimated.

Jürgen Mandl, Präsident der Kärntner Wirtschaftskammer

Africa's upswing as a profit for Carinthia
And one of these new markets is to be found in Africa. "We have some technologies that are needed in the future market of Africa," says the President of the Chamber of Commerce. Above all, environmental technologies and photovoltaic technology from Carinthia would find customers in Africa. But Carinthia could also supply a lot across the Mediterranean in the field of mechanical engineering.

And it is precisely this new market, as well as other export markets, that Carinthian companies will be informed about on Tuesday as part of the 21st Export Day at the Chamber of Commerce.