Macedonian companies satisfied with the effects of the "Open Balkan"

According to the analysis of the "Analytica" think tank from Skopje, as many as 88 percent of companies from the processing sector and 58 percent of companies in the tourism sector in North Macedonia believe that the "Open Balkan" initiative opens up new opportunities for improving work, new employment and achieving greater growth.

The data was presented at today's meeting "Does ‘Open Balkan’ meet the expectations of domestic companies?", organized by "Analytica", as a result of comprehensive research on the effects and satisfaction of Macedonian companies with the results of the "Open Balkan" initiative.

The research was conducted in 150 export-oriented companies, 100 of which are from the manufacturing industry and 50 that work in the tourism sector.

A key finding of the survey among tourism companies is that 58 percent of them believe that the "Open Balkan" initiative will improve tourism.

Companies estimate that "Open Balkan" can improve the situation in tourism in terms of financial support and investments (72 percent), promotion of tourist destinations and joint performance in third markets (62 percent), and opening of new tourist promotion channels (58 percent).

As many as 82 percent of respondents singled out the improvement of tourist infrastructure as their first priority.

"Analytica" expert Bojana Mijovic Hristovska referred to some of the recommendations and conclusions in her presentation, saying that connecting to a common regional tourist market meant economic progress and growth and laying the foundations for sustainable development.

"Providing additional institutional support for connection, networking and coordination, legal improvements and exchange of experiences are important for companies from this sector. They demand harmonization of labor market regulation in order to provide sufficient workforce in the region that will be engaged in the hospitality and tourism sector, as well as capital investments in traffic and tourism infrastructure," Hristovska pointed out.

She said that, among other things, companies were looking for a well-designed creative tourism campaign for the promotion and creation of a recognizable regional tourist product that would encourage multiculturalism and branding of tourism as a common destination, as well as building common platforms for cooperation.

The executive director of "Analytica" Tamara Mijovic Spasova concluded that export-oriented companies from the processing industry and agriculture strongly felt the benefits of the "Open Balkan".

According to the analysis, for 88 percent of the companies surveyed, this initiative opens up new opportunities for improving work, new employment, and achieving greater company growth.

The majority of companies (57 percent) believe that the opportunities for trade within the "Open Balkan" initiative are identical or similar to those in the EU, while an average of 70 percent of surveyed companies agree that "Open Balkan" improves the competitiveness of Macedonian agricultural production and the placement of Macedonian products.

The survey also looked at the problems that companies have faced or are still facing as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The main consequence of the restrictive measures taken due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is a significant increase in business costs, as many as 81 percent of surveyed companies said that this was the biggest problem, and every third company faced problems in the procurement of raw materials, artificial fertilizers necessary for agricultural production, and for every fourth company, the measures led to a reduction in product placement.

Mijovic Spasova concluded that for the development of agricultural policy in North Macedonia, emphasis should be placed on subsidies for domestic production as an important measure for the development of quality agriculture.

"For sustainable and competitive agriculture, companies believe that it is necessary to regulate the purchase of agricultural products, stabilize and increase domestic food production, which would reduce the import of foreign products. Furthermore, to ensure better placement and reliable supply of products," Spasova said.

Professor Borce Trenovski presented the analysis and statistical data for the agricultural sector and the qualitative analysis from the survey and pointed out that the removal of customs trade barriers, as well as other types of protectionist measures for the transport and trade of agricultural products between the countries of the "Open Balkan", was significant.

He said that mutual recognition of analyzes and accompanying documents, had accelerated the transport of agricultural products without waiting at border crossings, and the creation of common platforms for entering foreign markets were very important for companies.

"Better joint planning of agricultural production in the countries that are part of the initiative is very important. This will lead to greater product diversification, and higher quality, and will be more competitive in other markets, primarily in the EU. Moreover, joint production strategies and joint exchanges in the field of agriculture in the context of crises and natural disasters can strongly influence the region's resilience to global and regional shocks. The formation of a special body that will be in charge of maintaining quality standards in the production of agricultural products and food would mean raising quality and competitiveness," Trenovski concluded.