Being one of the Central European countries best integrated into the free market economy, Slovenia is the rising star of international trade with its export and import capacity as an EU member and a member of the EUR region, and its dominance of integrated trade routes in its region.
Ranked 37th in the “Doing Business 2021” report prepared by the World Bank, which measures the favorable investment environment in 190 countries. Slovenia is in the top fifty in the world with its import volume of 50 billion USD. All these statistics show the interest of foreign investors in the country and the foreign purchasing capacity of the Slovenian domestic market.
Slovenia Import
As of 2021, Slovenia has a gross national product of 39.42 thousand USD per capita and a total of 53.58 billion USD. In 2021, it realized a sum of 49.60 Billion USD imports and 46.77 Billion USD exports.
China, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria are the five countries Slovenia imports the most. Pharmaceutical products, Electrical machinery, equipment, vehicles, machinery, and organic chemicals are the most imported products.
Slovenia has geopolitical advantages as a crossroads of trade routes. In this way, as a supply chain base serving exporters and importers, it rapidly increases its share in European trade.
Strategic Importance of Koper Port and Trade Routes
Koper Port is the southern gateway to international trade links between Europe and overseas, with 12 modern and fully equipped terminals.
The port of Koper is the largest container port in the Adriatic Sea (996,000 TEU capacity in 2021). The port of Koper is close to other important ports in the Adriatic Sea, Rijeka, and Trieste. However, what makes Koper stand out is its integrated capacity. 58% of the containers disembarked from the port of Koper to be imported to Slovenia, and other EU countries are subsequently transported by train.
Importers highly prefer the port of Koper with its advantages such as intermodal transportation, fast and integrated customs processes, and completion of the import process without paying VAT. Importers can transfer their cargo coming to Koper by sea to Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Czechia, Poland, Balkan countries, and Turkey by rail or truck.
The port of Koper has the status of a green port that meet EMAS requirements and meets all standards, including Cold ironing, Waste reception infrastructure, Cargo handling and transport, and Greenhouse gas emission inventory.
Koper and the “Belt and Road” initiative
The port of Koper was included in the new Silk Road, Belt, and Road, in 2018, through an integrated trade agreement with the Chinese port of Ningbo. The central importance of Koper for Belt and Road is that it is the only port on the Adriatic that is integrated into the European rail network. On the other hand, the fact that Slovenia’s logistics infrastructure is at world standards in every field, including rail, road, and air transport, increases its importance in this project.
As part of the belt and road project connecting China to Europe, Koper is a strategically located port connecting this line to the Mediterranean. The port of Koper covers end-to-end logistics solutions. The port makes it possible to transfer all kinds of cargo, especially containers, bulk cargo, general cargo, liquid cargo, and automobile transportation.
Integrated Logistics Solutions Slovenia is a candidate to become the strategic logistics center of Central Europe for exporters and importers, with integrated, multi-modal, low-emission freight transport systems and sustainable logistics capacity. It is an ideal intersection point for non-EU import traffic from Koper, warehousing services, and subsequent transfer to Slovenia and other EU countries, with rail, truck, and plane options.
About 70 freight trains connect Koper with the most significant business centers in Central and Eastern European countries every day. The port of Koper serves two-way rail, truck, and airway traffic. Many importers, both in Slovenia and central Europe, import their cargo arriving at the port of Koper via the Mediterranean Sea in Slovenia. After importing, these cargoes can be transferred to Slovenia or the rest of the EU by rail, truck, and airway cargo solutions.
Slovenia is increasing its existing transport, warehousing, and supply chain management capacity by investing in innovative and green technologies. It is seen that ports, warehouses, and shipping companies across the country make significant investments in all areas, such as the autonomous transportation of the future, smart logistics systems, integrated supply chain management, and green transportation.
The road network in Slovenia is above the EU-28 average.
The Slovenian railway network is 2,178 km long.
Local companies providing Slovenian maritime, road, rail, and airway shipping services, including the port of Koper, both contribute significantly to the European logistics traffic and demonstrate the success of logistics companies focused on Slovenia and global players. Avialog draws attention with its worldwide representative network, a wide range of logistics services, customer service embracing its international customer portfolio, and organizational success in all land, rail, air, and sea shipments integrated from Koper port throughout Slovenia. Avialog’s logistics solutions reassure its customers with its expertise in areas such as warehousing, distribution, and personalized logistics. In terms of importers and exporters operating in Slovenia, Avialog is the logistics company that has increased its business volume the most with its service quality, competitive prices, and a young perspective that has mastered the new generation of logistics management.
