Prague, July 10 (CTK) – Czech exports of arms and military equipment fell by Kc3.5bn yr/yr to Kc15.1bn in 2017 and arms producers were granted 1,159 export licences worth Kc21.1bn, the Industry and Trade Ministry said in a report on the export of military equipment.
There is a big difference between the number of granted licences and the number of materialised deals this year.
The length of arms deals is behind the drop in exports as many of them will materialise this year, Jiri Hynek, president of the Defence and Security Industry Association, told CTK in June.
Exports of small arms increased annually by 50 percent.
On the other hand, aircraft technology registered a drop, which was due to 2016 reporting record-breaking exports thanks to bigger supplies of the L-159 attack jet to Iraq, Hynek said.
Military equipment went to 106 countries, with exports to the USA amounting to Kc1.66bn, which was the highest figure. Within the EU, Slovakia was a major market, with exports at Kc901m.
The share of exports to Asia has grown from 14 percent to 20 percent over the past four years, while exports to the Middle East have been decreasing.
The value of export licences posted an annual rise of Kc5.2bn last year.
The export of firearms and their components for civilian use reached Kc3.3bn. A total of 720 licences were granted for exports to 73 countries outside the EU worth Kc9.1bn. The USA was the largest market.
Czech exports of arms and military equipment grew to a record-breaking Kc18.24bn in 2016.
There were 261 companies and one natural person with a foreign trade licence in the Czech Republic at the end of 2017.
Exports account for 90 percent of Czech armament companies’ production. The share is 10-30 percent in other EU and NATO states.
Czech materiel exports in 1999 – 2017:
|
Year |
Value (Kc billionn) |
|
1999 |
3.32 |
|
2000 |
3.09 |
|
2001 |
2.06 |
|
2002 |
2.37 |
|
2003 |
2.64 |
|
2004 |
2.86 |
|
2005 |
2.62 |
|
2006 |
2.63 |
|
2007 |
4.83 |
|
2008 |
4.73 |
|
2009 |
4.63 |
|
2010 |
5.48 |
|
2011 |
4.51 |
|
2012 |
6.77 |
|
2013 |
7.43 |
|
2014 |
11.77 |
|
2015 |
15.13 |
|
2016 |
18.24 |
|
2017 |
15.10 |
Source: Industry and Trade Ministry