The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Czech global shipments during 2020. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from the Czech Republic.

1. Machinery including computers: US$38.4 billion (20% of total exports)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: $36.8 billion (19.2%)
3. Vehicles: $36.7 billion (19.1%)
4. Plastics, plastic articles: $6.5 billion (3.4%)
5. Articles of iron or steel: $6.3 billion (3.3%)
6. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $5.1 billion (2.7%)
7. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $3.9 billion (2%)
8. Toys, games: $3.9 billion (2%)
9. Iron, steel: $3.6 billion (1.9%)
10. Rubber, rubber articles: $3.5 billion (1.8%)

Czech Republic’s top 10 exports accounted for about three-quarters (75.5%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Toys and games was the lone gainer among the top 10 export categories, up by 6% since 2019.

The leading decliner among Czech Republic’s top 10 export categories was iron and steel via a -11% drop from 2019 to 2020, outpacing rubber and articles made from rubber (down -9.1%) and vehicles (down -9%).

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the Czech Republic’s most valuable exported products were cars (10.9% of the global total), computers including optical readers (7.4%), automobile parts or accessories (6.9%), phone system devices including smartphones (6.2%) then insulated wire or cable (1.5%).

Overall Czechia posted a $21.5 billion trade surplus in 2020, up 6.7% from $20.2 billion in black ink one year earlier.

The following types of Czech product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Vehicles: US$21.2 billion (Down by -3.4% since 2019)
2. Machinery including computers: $6.6 billion (Down by -19.8%)
3. Toys, games: $1.9 billion (Up by 6.1%)
4. Articles of iron or steel: $1.9 billion (Up by 4%)
5. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $1.8 billion (Down by -2.3%)
6. Wood: $1.6 billion (Up by 14.5%)
7. Rubber, rubber articles: $1.1 billion (Down by -10%)
8. Glass: $903.7 million (Up by 1%)
9. Miscellaneous manufactured articles: $787.3 million (Up by 11.7%)
10. Railways, streetcars: $573.4 million (Up by 13.1%)

Czech Republic has highly positive net exports in the international trade of automobiles notably cars, automotive parts and accessories. In turn, these cashflows indicate Czech Republic’s strong competitive advantages under the vehicles product category.

Below are exports from Czechia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Czechia’s goods trail Czech importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$3.8 billion (Down by -38.2% since 2019)
2. Pharmaceuticals: -$2.7 billion (Up by 13.7%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.2 billion (Down by -16.4%)
4. Iron, steel: -$1.4 billion (Down by -25.9%)
5. Other chemical goods: -$1.1 billion (Up by 24.1%)
6. Meat: -$1 billion (Down by -6.4%)
7. Copper: -$792.3 million (Down by -3.1%)
8. Fruits, nuts: -$726.7 million (Up by 12.1%)
9. Ores, slag, ash: -$581.1 million (Down by -9.3%)
10. Aluminum: -$561.6 million (Down by -28.4%)

Czechia has highly negative net exports for petroleum oils and gases.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Czechia’s competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for the Czech Republic to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.

Czech Export Companies

Only one Czech company made the Forbes Global 2000 rankings: CEZ Group (electric utilities).

Wikipedia lists other relatively large Czech companies. A selected sample of these companies appears below.

• Škoda Auto A.S. (automobiles)
• Agrofert, A.S. (conglomerate)
• RWE Supply & Trading CZ, A.S. (oil, gas)
• Unipetrol, A.S. (chemicals)
• ČEPRO, A.S. (oil, gas)
• Barum Continental Spol. S R.O. (tires)
• Continental Automotive Czech Republic S.R.O. (auto parts)
• Finitrading, A.S. (metallurgy)