The latest report on Croatia’s GDP growth is good news, but additional efforts are necessary to increase industrial production and exports, said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Wednesday.

“We think this is good. The growth of both demand and individual consumption is particularly important,” Plenkovic said, adding the growth was above analysts’ expectations.

Eight economic analysts polled by Hina news agency had forecast an annual growth rate of 2.3 percent.

The state statistics bureau reported earlier today that Croatia’s economy grew in the first quarter of 2018 by 2.5 percent compared to Q1 2017. This is the 15th quarter in a row that the country’s GDP has posted year-on-year growth, and the 2.5 percent increase in Q1 2018 is up from the 2 percent growth posted in Q4 2017 – itself the smallest growth on record since mid-2015.

“We must take additional efforts to increase industrial production and exports, the two aspects that will ensure growth in accordance with our projections and plans,” Plenkovic said.

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