Companies are responding to the slump in export orders by investing in digital tools

The loss of foreign orders in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic was recorded by three quarters of 121 export companies that took part in a survey conducted by the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic at the end of June. The biggest obstacles to trade were limited travel to trading partner countries, the cancellation of exhibitions and trade fairs, and the inability to send workers to the customer to complete deliveries.

However, more than half of respondents also stated that they had to deal with newly introduced trade barriers, which the different countries justified as protection against coronavirus. However, according to the Czech Statistical Office, Czech foreign trade is recovering. In June, Czech exports increased by 12 percent in national terms compared to May and almost reached the values from 2019, following an increase of 14% in May compared to April. During the first half of the year,

Czech exports fell by 14 percent year-on-year due to measures against the spread of coronavirus. Of the key destinations in the first six months of the year, exports to Spain (by 28%), France (by 24.5%) and the United Kingdom (by 23.5%) decreased the most, while exports to Turkey (by 20%) increased the most. Half of the companies have already responded to the coronavirus crisis by investing in the digitization of business activities or preparing a plan for such investments.

The research has also confirmed that digital technologies are helping companies manage the crisis better. Digital technologies helped maintain business relationships during the coronavirus crisis, according to 78 percent of survey participants. The most important support in business activities, especially for the search for new opportunities, is joint participation in exhibitions and fairs abroad. Services related to product interest verification, marketing surveys, regional sector analyses or the assistance of local sector specialists are also important to them.