9 Business Newsletter 06.2011

No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Economic NewsLetter
Netherlands Embassy Macedonia
The Economic NewsLetter of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje offers you thirteen ­pages of news, bringing the Dutch and
Macedonian business ­community closer together.
NEXT BUSINESS NETWORK EVENT
Thursday 23 June 2011, 19h00
Restaurant MARGER, City Park Skopje
Contents
Embassy News
Business Network Event: Farewell Ambassador
Forum Doing Business with Macedonia
Stand Out in a Crowd, Add a Dutch Touch
Third Mavrovo Tour Bigger than Ever
Dutch Atradius to Assist MBDP on Factoring
Statistics
Granted Patents
Interview
Reinforcements for Construction Industry
Business News
First Flight Corendon to Macedonia
UNCTAD Investment Policy Review
Cooperatives in Agriculture
Short News
Telecom Turnover - More Foreign Tourists Decreasing Inflation - Previous Editions
Colofon
Note: logos and blue text are hyperlinks to websites!
Dear friends,
It has been nearly four years since I landed
in Macedonia. Time went by very fast. One
of the reasons is that we have worked
hard together to boost trade and business
relations between our countries. This very
Business News Letter is a result of our efforts, as is the Business Network Event.
Also, due to our cooperation a new Chamber of Commerce is in the making, NL
Chamber, with which the embassy hopes
to actively and effectively work together.
More important, however, are tangible
results on the ground. New contracts,
new production sites, the increasing contacts between Dutch and Macedonian
companies and the ever growing use of
the business support programmes. Let’s
also not forget the substantial growth of
Dutch tourists: from 3,500 last year, 2011
will witness around 14,000 Dutchmen
­enjoying the beauties of Mace­donia.
Of importance also are the long-term
and extremely fruitful cooperation programmes between amongst others our
State Audit Offices, our Customs, the
Public Revenue Offices, the Cadasters,
Employers Organizations, and Ministries of Finance. Let’s also not forget the
excellent working relationship with the
Mini­stries of Economy and Agriculture.
All these contacts and exchange of know­
ledge and expertise have contributed to a
more favourable enabling environment
for doing business. We are not yet there,
though. Much remains to be done. My
successor, Marriët Schuurman, and her
team will continue to stand ready for you,
to work on reinforcing our mutual business interests.
I hope to see all of you on 23 June to be
able to meet and say farewell. You have
shown not only to be business partners,
but great friends as well. I want to sincerely thank you for your friendship!
Simone Filippini, Ambassador
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy News
Business Network Event: Farewell Ambassador
The upcoming Business Network Event on 23 June will be the farewell event of the Macedonian business
community for ambassador Simone Filippini whose mandate will finish this summer.
Four years have past since Simone
Filippini started her mandate as
the Netherlands ambassador to
Macedonia.
motivator and inspirator
Ambassador Filippini has been a
powerful moti­vator and inspirator
to ­numerous people and organizations, not least in the field of trade
and investment promotion. At the
very beginning of her mandate she
took the initiative to orga­nize Business Network Events that with 12
editions has become a well appre­
ciated focal point for Dutch and
Macedonian business. She also
played an important role in enabling the current success of Dutch
touroperators. Furthermore, she
supported Dutch and Macedonian
companies in amongst others the
textile, horticulture and medical sectors. Last but definitely not
least, Simone Filippini pursuaded
Minister of Economy Fatmir Besimi, Ambassador Simone Filippini and Adriaan van der Flier
of NL Chamber at the previous Business Network Event.
members of the Dutch business
community in Macedonia to share
their expe­rience with entrepreneurs through the foundation of
an official chamber of commerce:
NL Chamber, which was presented
at the previous event in the pre­
sence of the Macedonian Minister
of Economy, Fatmir Besimi. Join us
on 23 June at ambassador Filippini’s last Business Network Event!
Business Network Event
23 June 2011, 19h00
restaurant
MARGER
city park, Skopje
Main results of the trade and investment promotion support activities of the Embassy in 2010
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SIMED International gained a tender to supply health care equipment in the amount of 52 million EUR
European Plants expanded its operations to 140 ha. as part of their plans to expand to 485 ha. in total
Sluiter Ellwoodii obtained 110 ha. of state owned agricultural land under concession
The project “Set up of an Integrated Mother and Child Health Care” received an ORIO grant in the amount of 6.3
million EUR at a total project value of 17.6 million EUR
Dutch companies placed orders with Macedonian garment manufacturers for a total of 3 million EUR through
the intervention of the CBI Export Coaching Programme “Outerwear Macedonia”
The first charter flight from Amsterdam to Skopje and Ohrid by Transavia and the Dutch touroperator
Karatanova Tours resulted in 2,500 passengers during the summer of 2010
The second charter flight operator Corendon entered Macedonia, while tourism subsidies increased to 65 EUR
per tourist. The initial two flights per week have already been extended to three flights and currently a fourth
weekly flight is being scheduled. In total 14,000 Dutch tourists are expected to have 110,000 overnight stays.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy News
Forum Doing Business with Macedonia
On 9 May a forum on doing business with Macedonia took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Some 40
businessmen attended the event, after which they visited the exhibition of icons from Macedonia.
The Macedonian Embassy in The
Hague and the Macedonian Agency for Foreign Investments and
Export Promotion took the initiative to organize a business forum
about Macedonia in co-operation
with the Chambers of Commerce
from Utrecht, Rotterdam, The
Hague, and Flevoland. The objective of the forum was to inform the
Dutch business community about
the opportunities and incentives
of doing business with Macedonia.
Some fourty representatives of
Dutch companies and business
support organizations attended
the event.
investment proposal in agriculture
sector in the city of Kocani and Mr
Johan Scheele shared his experien­
ces with SBW’s plant ­tissue laboratory in Vinica.
“The forum was an excellent way to exchange experiences on doing business with
Macedonia with entrepreneurs from other sectors. It will undoubtedly contribute to
further intensifying Dutch-Macedonian business ties.”
Arno Scheidmann, CEO of Karma Bella BV (garment production)
recognition of reforms
Macedonian ambassador Nikola
Dimitrov opened the forum ­after
which Mr Petar Pandilov of the
investment agency presented the
advantages of doing business with
Macedonia while stressing the numerous recognitions of the economic reforms by reknown international institutions.
Mr Zoran Manasiev presented an
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Embassy News
Stand Out in a Crowd, Add a Dutch Touch
Queen’s Day 2011 Celebration.
Cycling and recycling, contemporary design, fashion, film and
dance have once again been the
main themes of this year’s activities organised by the Embassy of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands
in Skopje on the occasion of the
celebration of the birthday of Her
Majesty Queen Beatrix. Traditio­
nally, the Embassy organises and
supports a series of events in the
months of April and May to note
the Dutch national day, Queen’s
Day. “Stand out in a crowd – Add
a Dutch touch” is the motto of
this year’s Queen’s Day activities,
under­lining the power of creativity
and the importance of being different.
H.E. Ambassador Filippini and Tinex CEO
Mrs. Todorovik-Nikolik announce the winners of the top prizes in the bag design student competition. First prize: a VanMoof
design bike from Holland.
The two months of Dutch touch
started with the announcement
of the Student Design Competition organised with Tinex Markets
in which students from all around
Macedonia submitted their design
solutions of a re-usable shopping
bag. It continued with the Towns
and Bicycles workshop in Prilep
On the occasion of Queen’s Day, the national flags of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and
the Republic of Macedonia were made of tulips, the most popular Dutch flowers in the
world. Sponsored by: Ed de Groot - Flower Export & Import.
that resulted in bicycle-friendly
urban planning done by students
of architecture with assis­tance of
a Dutch expert of Royal Haskoning.
The next event was the contemporary dance festival, Dance Fest,
which included the performance
of one of the world’s best dance
companies – the Scapino Ballet
from Rotterdam. On April 21st the
Week of Dutch Films was opened
at the Cinematheque of Macedonia with a programme of 12 Dutch
­movies. For the first time this year,
the movies were shown in four
towns in Macedonia: Skopje, Vinica, Shtip and Kumanovo.
The highlight of the celebrations
New outdoor fitness bicycles installed in the
Dutch Park in Ohrid, manufactured by Zavar, sponsored by TAV, Corendon, Simed.
was the Queen’s Day reception on
April 27th, at the Aleksandar Palace
Hotel. The reception showcased a
Dutch-Macedonian exhibition of
home and fashion design called
Existing Achievements, as well as a
second-hand design fashion show
prepared by university students.
Furthermore, students from the
Academy of Contemporary Dance
in Skopje gave a performance of
choreography by Risima Risimkin.
A new humanitarian action called
I Can and Want to Give a Life was
launched in order to gather support for transplantation of organs.
As in previous years, children had
fun in a special children’s corner,
where they were busy making re-
New picnic tables inaugurated in the Dutch
Park in Ohrid sponsored by Pivara Skopje.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
cycled clothes and playing games.
Also, at the Queen’s Day reception the prototype of the outdoor
fitness bicycle was revealed. Five
of these bicycles and a bicycle
par­king rack coloured in orange,
the national colour of the Netherlands, together with new picnic tables, were donated by the
Embassy and the sponsors TAV,
Corendon, Simed, Zavar and Pivara
­Skopje AD to the City of Ohrid for
its Dutch Park on the day of arrival
of the first group of Dutch tourists
brought by Corendon Airlines on 6
May. Ambassadors Filippini and
Dimitrov officially opened the re­
novated Dutch Park on 6 May 2011.
Embassy News
Third Mavrovo Tour Bigger than Ever
Mavrovo Tour 12 June 2011.
Start of the two mountain bike tours (43 and 83km).
The Mavrovo Tour has become
a traditional yearly recreational
event held in June. It started in
2009 at the intiative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Municipality of Mavrovo
and Rostushe and the National
Park Mavrovo in order to promote
the natural beauties of the Mavrovo National Park, in particular
the Mavrovo Lake and its surroun­
dings, and to give cycling and
­hiking enthusiasts an opportunity
to enjoy a day spent in nature.
Since the first tour in 2009, the
event gained increased popularity
among bikers and hikers from all
over Macedonia due to the beautiful location of the tour, the interesting programme with music and
dance performances, lottery with
many prizes, children’s activities
and the relaxed and festive atmosphere during the day. In order to
make it easy for anyone to come
to Mavrovo and bring their bicycles, the organisers traditionally
provide round-trip transportation
for people and their bicycles for a
symbolic fee. Prior to the tour, a
clean-up action of touristic spots
around the lake has also traditio­
nally been organised, involving
Ambassador Filippini, Mayor of Mavrovo
and Rostushe Mehmedi and Sashko Kocev
take a photo with some of the fastest cyclists on both mountain bike tours.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
children form local schools and
staff members of the municipality,
the national park and the embassy.
The tour this year again included
the recreational tour around the
lake and a rich cultural programme
and lottery, but also offered two
mountain bike races (tours of 83
and 43 km), two hiking tours guided by professionals, as well as entrance to the Sharkova Dupka and
a ski-lift ride.
More than 500 people participated
in the event, which was moderated by actor and comedian Sashko
Kocev and included performances
of singer Aleksandra Pileva and
M2 Production Music Stars. The
tour received the support of many
sponsors, whose support is inadmissible for its success!
The Embassy and the Municipality were
assisted by students from primary and secondary schools from Rostushe and worked
together to clean up the most littered tourist points around the lake.
One part of the Mavrovo clean-up team
ready for action.
Visit Mavrovo Tour online:
www.npmavrovo.org.mk/tour/
Embassy News
Dutch Atradius to Assist MBDP on Factoring
The Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion (MBDP) will receive ­technical assistance from credit insurer Atradius.
Atradius Dutch State Business NV
expands its cooperation with
the Macedonian Bank for Deve­
lopment Promotion with technical
assistance, financially supported
by the Dutch government.
MBDP has a strong focus on providing liquidity and reducing credit
risks for Macedonian entrepre-
See: www.mbdp.com.mk
neurs with credit insurance for
both export and domestic trade.
Atradius is already reinsuring
­MBDP’s credit risks.
The technical assistance is aimed
at organizational efficiency and
product development. Factoring
is one of the products MBDP plans
to introduce with technical assistance of Atradius. Factoring will
enable entrepreneurs to obtain
funding based on their receivables, i.e. outstanding invoices.
In this way MBDP intends to
meet the persistent demand from
­exporting companies for better
access to working capital.
Atradius originates from the
merger of NCM NV (Nederlandsche
Credietverzekerings
Maatschappij) and Gerling
Kredit­­­­versicherung in 2001.
NCM, founded in 1925, started to
provide Export Credit Insurance
to Dutch companies on behalve
of the Dutch State in 1932. This
function is now incorporated in
Atradius Dutch State Business.
Atradius is one of the largest
credit insurers in the world, present in 42 countries with 160
­offices, making 22,000 credit
­decisions per day.
See: www.atradiusdsb.nl
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Interview
Reinforcements for Construction Industry
The Dutch-Macedonian joint-venture Steel Con DOO starts production of reinforcement armatures. With
these prefab elements, construction companies can decrease the building time with up to 50%.
The Dutch family business Beton­
vlechtersbedrijf Gerliko BV from
Nederhorst den Berg has a long
tradition in processing reinforcement bars - rebars - into armatures
and nets for reinforced concrete
structures. Through Steel Con DOO
in Kumanovo, a joint-venture with
their Macedonian partner and supported by the Dutch governmental
programme PSI they are now investing in a production facility for
reinforcement armatures.
“Among our seasonal workers in
the Netherlands was a guy from
Macedonia,” says Richard Lieverst,
one of the three brothers running
Gerliko. “He said that prefab reinforcement armatures and nets do
not exists in Macedonia.”
decrease of building time
up to 50%
Current practice in Macedonia,
but also in Albania, Kosovo and
­southern Serbia is that ­rebars
are deli­vered straight to the
­building site, where they are cut,
bent, ­woven and welded into
the required shapes on the spot.
­Lieverst: “This is a very time consu­
ming way of working and since it is
done on the building site weather
conditions also play a role. If these
companies would use our prefab
armatures, they would easily decrease the time for building the
construction with 30 to 50%.”
Richard Lieverst and his brothers
Ruud and Eddy went to Mace­
Reinforcement armatures for concrete
foundations.
donia to see whether they could
extend their business to this new
market. “Every time that we came
to Mace­donia, we witnessed the
progress at the building site right
at airport in Skopje. We concluded
that there is indeed a market for
our products!”
In April 2010 they were introduced
to Boban Todorovski, owner of
Steel Con in Kumanovo. Steel
Con, founded in 2005, designs and
produces steel constructions for
buildings, employing 50 people.
Todorovski immediately understood the value of these products
for the market and offered to turn
his company into a joint-venture
with Gerliko.
fifty - fifty
“On June 23rd 2010 we agreed to
take decisions by consensus and
therefore we turned Steel Con into
a 50%-50% joint-venture with
Gerliko,” says Todorovski. “I am
proud to speak about our company
now, rather than my company.
Boban Todorovski with Richard, Ruud and Eddy Lieverst at Steel Con in Kumanovo.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
domestic construction companies,
but we will also export to Albania,
Kosovo and Serbia.”
volatile global supply market
Truck with rebar products leaving at Gerliko in Nederhorst den Berg
The partners applied at the Dutch
governmental agency NL EVD internationaal with an investment
project of 1,5 million EUR for the
establishment of a production facility for rebar products. The project was approved on 21.12.2010,
meaning that upon successful implementation the Dutch government will reward the project with
a grant of 50%.
speed
The agency was surprised by the
speed of the project. ­Todorovski:
“By the end of March we got the
construction permit and next
month we will be ready for production.” Most of the brand new machines and other equipment has
been delivered and a small part will
arrive during the next weeks. Currently workers are ­being trained
by Gerliko’s production people to
operate the machines that already
Twinmaster 16 has been installed
have been installed.
70 new jobs
The project will lead to increased
employment to some 12o jobs in
total. Todorovski: “We expect to
employ 50 workers in the rebar
products department, whereas we
could use some 10 to 20 additional
people in the existing steel construction department.”
The production capacity for steel
constructions is up to 3,500 tonnes
per year, whereas the production of rebar products will have a
capacity up to 15,000 tonnes per
year. “We have great interest from
The partners also planned a large
space for storage of raw mate­rials
(rebar coils). Lieverst: “Steel is a
highly volatile global market and
the construction industry is a seasonal market with peaks as soon
as temperatures rise above zero
and right after the summer holidays. Therefore, in our business
it is crucial to constantly monitor
world steel prices in order to buy
raw materials at the best prices.
That leads automatically to large
stocks, but that enables us to sell
at competitive and relatively stable prices.”
next project
Next step will be the extension to
the production of reinforcement
nets for concrete floors. “That will
be next project. First let’s make this
one to a success,” says ­Todorovski.
www.steelcon.mk
Boban Todorovski at the new production facility
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Business News
First Flight Corendon to Macedonia
At 09h20 on 6 May flight CD501 from Amsterdam landed at Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport for the very
first time and received a warm welcome.
Fifteen minutes ahead of schedule,
the first flight of Corendon Dutch
Airlines from Amsterdam landed at
Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport.
­Together with local partner Fibula
Travel, Corendon offers package
deals for a holi­day at the shores of
Lake Ohrid.
Atilay Uslu, CEO of Corendon also
joined this first flight, as well as
Nikola Dimitrov, Macedonian ambassador to the Netherlands. The
185 passengers were welcomed
by ambassador Simone Filippini,
deputy prime minister Vladimir
Peshevski and various others with
traditional bread and salt, cake
and Macedonian wine offered by
Bovin Winery from ­Negotino.
This summer Corendon operates
three flights per week to Ohrid:
every Tuesday and twice every Friday. A fourth flight is planned.
Atilay Uslu, CEO Corendon
Atilay Uslu, ambassador Simone Filippini and
deputy prime minister Vladimir Peshevski.
Atilay Uslu (43), Dutchman from Turkish origin, had run a shoarma
bar in the Dutch city of Haarlem for three years when he decided to
start a tourist agency in 1994. Mega Reizen was Uslu’s one-man business, selling flight tickets to Turkey. In 2000 Uslu founded Corendon
that developed into the fifth largest touroperator in the Netherlands
with 110 employees, an annual turnover of 174 mln EUR and almost
half a million passengers in 2010.
Corendon Dutch Airlines started operating its first aircraft on 30 April
2011. The Turkish subsidiary of the group, established in 2005 already
operates 8 aircraft.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Business News
UNCTAD Investment Policy Review
The Investment Policy Review on Macedonia provides an extensive overview of the efforts to attract
Foreign Direct Investments, the results in different sectors of the economy and comparison with other
­countries in the region.
Foreign Direct Investments in 2009
On May 26th the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented the Investment Policy Review on Mace­
donia in Skopje.
Macedonia
Albania
significant improvements
The review acknowledges significant improvements of the business environment, but certain
obstacles remain. These obstacles
can be overcome through efficient
implementation of the existent
regulations, as well as additional
changes in the regulatory framework, primarily access of investors
to land and securing of building
permits, along with employment
conditions. The review also recom­
mends improvement of institutional coordination in the creation
and effi­cient implementation of
investment policies, competitiveness and industrial policies.
FDI mainly in banking and telecom
The review reports a generally
small impact of Foreign ­Direct
Invest­ment (FDI), whereas in
banking and telecommunications
­foreign investors have attained
a critical mass. However, accor­
ding to UNCTAD’s performance
and potential indices Macedonia
performs above its potential. In
2008 it was ranked 44th (of the 141
economies covered) in terms of
FDI performance, and only 100th
in terms of FDI potential.
FDI Stock
(million USD)
countries
Bulgaria
Croatia
Greece
Moldova
Montenegro
Romania
Serbia
Ukraine
South-East Europe
1
1
4,510
3,537
50,727
36,602
44,927
2,604
4,579
73,983
20,584
52,021
77,628
7,447,904
per capita
(USD)
2,206
1,106
6,761
8,059
4,014
625
7,358
3,462
1,167
3,825
15,156
FDI to GDP
(%)
52
29
108
58
14
48
110
46
49
44
53
46
European Union 27
Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia
sources: UNCTAD, WorldBank, World Development Indicators 2010
UNCTAD Review on Financial Crisis
Macedonian banks were affected moderately by the crisis, the
real economy was hit severely at
the end of 2008 through a collapse in export demand and loss
of external financing. Industrial
production and exports declined
sharply.
While the central bank’s policy
rate was raised from 7% to 9% to
attract financial inflows, 10 other
measures were undertaken by
the Government to fight the
crisis. Among them, there were
measures like the writing-off of
some type of liabilities and tax
reductions. In contrast to developed countries, the Government
has not given aid to particular
firms or sectors.
soon at: www.unctad.org/ipr
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
structure of the economy
The services sector plays an increasingly important role with
58% of GDP in 2008 from 44% in
1992. The manufacturing sector
is middle-sized with 30% of GDP,
whereas the agricultural sector is
steadily decreasing, though still
remaining significant today. The
manu­facturing sector is dominated by iron and steel, textiles, construction, and the exploitation of
metals and minerals.
export partner
share in total
exports 2009 (%)
Germany
16.7
12.5
11.7
10.8
8.1
Serbia
Kosovo
Greece
Italy
share in total
imports 2009 (%)
import partner
Germany
Russian Federation
Greece
Serbia
Italy
10.3
9.8
8.7
7.9
7.2
source: State Statistics Office
Trade Structure of Macedonia by Product Group
export value 1990, 2000 and 2009 in millions USD
international trade
Being a small country, Macedonia is relatively open to trade
which accounted for 133% of GDP
in 2008. Between 2000 and 2009
imports rose from 2.1 to 5.0 billion
USD, while exports grew from 1.3
to 2.7 billion USD. This trade deficit is partly a result of the expansion of the economy, shown by the
top 5 of imported commodities:
• petroleum
• iron and steel
• textile yarn
• road vehicles
• electric energy
Dynamic Cluster around Wine
“Wine production has a long
tradition with good skills in
Macedonia. This industry, together with related suppliers
(barrels, cork, bottles etc.),
its distribution network and
related activities (hotels and
other tourist services related
to wine tourism), has a potential to become a dynamic cluster, fuelling broader growth of
the country’s economy.”
food, live animals
crude materials, excl. fuels
chemicals
total
beverages, tobacco
mineral fuels, lubricants, related mat.
manufactured goods
source: State Stastics Office
European countries are the main
trading partners. Russia is the
­second largest import partner due
to oil delive­ries.
at other points on the food value
chain, especially in downstream
activities, such as warehousing,
retail and food manufacturing.
investment possibilities
in food value chain
regulatory guillotine
Climatic conditions, a longstan­
ding accumulation of skills and
traditions make agriculture a
particularly important industry
for the Macedonian economy. In
­general, FDI in agricultural production is very limited in all parts
of the world. Additionally, access
to agricultural land is constrained
in Mace­donia. In principle, possi­
bilities for FDI could take place
In order to eliminate duplication
and inconsistency between old
and new legislation, the Government of Macedonia has reviewed
laws and by-laws with the intent
of eliminating all unnecessary,
inefficient, complicated and outdated regulations. This process,
launched at the end of 2006, is
called the “regulatory guillotine”,
which lead to significant improvements.
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No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Business News
Cooperatives in Agriculture
Supported by the Dutch development organization SNV fruit and vegetable growers in Macedonia o
­ rganize
themselves for export.
In 2010 the Dutch development organization SNV initiated the esta­
blishment of two cooperatives in
the Macedonian agriculture sector.
improved production,
reduced costs,
increased competitiveness
The objective of the cooperatives
is to increase the competitiveness of its members by improving
qua­lity, quantity and post-harvest
handling through workshops and
trainings and to coordinate production and sales.
By organizing joined purchase of
pesticides, insecticides, fertilizer
and oil, the cooperatives aim to
decrease the cost of production.
Fruit-Cultivation in Macedonia
Fruit-cultivation is concentrated in the western part of Macedonia, in
areas of 300 to 800 metres above sea level. Amost two thirds of the
Macedonian fruit production concerns top fruit (apples, pears and
quinces) in the areas of Ohrid, Resen and Tetovo. One third is stone
fruit (cherries, sour cherries, peaches, apricots and plums), cultivated
in the area of Rosoman. Additionally, large areas of vineyards (both
wine grapes and table grapes) are located around Kavadarci, Negotino and Valandovo.
Due to different altitudes there are many different microclimate
­areas with special climatic conditions suitable for fruit production.
dominant apple variety: Idared
Apple cultivation is highly traditional: Idared is with 65% the main
variety, followed by Golden Delicious (20%) and Red Delicious (10%).
Prices dropped from 0.40 EUR/kg in 2007 to 0.15 EUR/kg in 2010.
gather, pack and store all apples.
The members generate a total annual yield of 2,000 tonnes of apple
on 50 ha. of orchards. The target
markets are the wholesale traders on the domestic market, in the
neighbouring countries Bulgaria,
Albania and Serbia as well as in
Turkey, Iran, Iraq.
See: www.zzpo.com.mk
Together, the members cultivate 12 ha. of land with an annual
yield of 800 tonnes of tomatoes,
168 tonnes of red pepper and
135 tonnes of cabbage.
See: www.zzvegefresh.com
apple cooperative
The
cooperative
Prespanski
­Ovostari (Prespa Fruit Growers)
was established in May 2010 by 16
apple producers in ­Resen, southwest Macedonia.
Prespanski Ovostari strives to open
a joint distribution centre where
members and non-members can
vegetable cooperative
The cooperative “VegeFresh” was
established in April 2010 in Kuklis,
Strumica by 12 farmers addressing
the issue of fragmented production and poor competitiveness.
SNV Macedonia
Ul. Dane Krapcev 10 A
1000 Skopje
T
F
E
W
+389 2 3217320
+389 2 3217322
[email protected]
www.snvworld.org
12
No. 8 / Juni 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Statistics
Level of innovation: Share of World Wide Granted Patents (1995 - 2009)
Granted Patents
The number of patents companies
have obtained is used to evaluate
the level of innovation of countries. In the period from 1995 to
2009 the Netherlands is in the
11th position with 117,000 patents.
­Japanese companies lead with
­almost 3 million patents, followed
by the USA with 2 million patents.
Macedonia is on position 76 with
339 granted patents, behind Croatia (position 58 with 1,016 patents)
but ahead of Bosnia Herzegovina
(position 94 with 96 patents).
source: WIPO
Short News
Telecom Turnover
The total turnover of service providers in tele­phony, internet and
television amounted to 398 million EUR in 2010, which is a 2%
decrease of revenues compared
to 2009. The trend of decreasing
number of land­line users conti­
nued in 2010 with 5.5 %, whereas
the number of mobile line users
increased by 11 %.
source: Agency for Electronic
Communications
Decreasing Inflation
“Price growth will stabilize in the
future months and then reduction
will follow,” forecasts the governor of the National Bank Dimitar
Bogov in an interview with Radio
Free Europe. The inflation rate is
now 5.2% annually, after a slight
decrease in May. The governor
predicts greater reduction of the
inflation at the beginning of the
next year, below 3 %. Bogov considers government projections
of economic growth by 3.5 % this
year realistic.
More Foreign Tourists
In April 37,142 tou­rists spent 87,413
overnight stays in Macedonia,
which is a slight increase compared to April 2010. However, the
number of ­foreign tourists and
overnight stays increased with
20% resp. 29%. The number of domestic tourists and overnight stays
decreased with 17% resp. 19%.
source: State Statics Office
COLOFON
Economic NewsLetter
No. 8 - June 2011
Embassy of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands, Skopje
Leninova 69 - 71
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
t: +389 2 3109250
+389 2 3129319
f: +389 2 3129309
e: [email protected]
w:­www.nlembassy.org.mk
twitter.com/NLinSkopje
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