Euro-area exports, their pre-crisis performance and the challenges lying ahead, is the theme of the focus section of the second issue of the Quarterly Report on the Euro Area in 2010. During the decade preceding the crisis, euro-area exporters benefited from robust growth in neighbouring emerging markets and a strong specialisation in some key export sectors that acted as powerful export drivers. Their relatively strong competitive position augurs well for their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the ongoing recovery in world trade. [more]