Macedonian Business Monthly 112-2011

8/3/2019 Macedonian Business Monthly 112-2011

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1No.1

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.XI

No.112, vol.XI EstablishEd2001

MacEdonian businEssMonthly

PAGE 2

PRIVATE MANDATORY

PENSIONS FUNDS HOLD

248 MILLION EURO

PAGE 4

MORE PASSENGERS

TRANSPORTED THROUGH

MACEDONIAN AIRPORTS

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RUSSIA ANNOUNCES SOUTH

STREAM DRAFT-AGREEMENT

BY YEAR-END

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EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE

POLICY SHOULD GUIDE THE

MACEDONIAN FARMER

MacEdonian businEss

The budget for next yearis projected at a level of2.75 billion euro, reve-

nues are projected at 2.59 billioneuro while the budget decit at2.5 percent of the gross domesticproduct (GDP). e Governmentproposal envisages increase of thecapital expenditures by 28 percent

and more funds will be allocatedfor the education, health and in-frastructure. e GDP growth isprojected at 4.5 percent while theination rate is put on the levelof 2.5 percent.

According to Finance MinisterZoran Stavreski, the budget isrealist and attainable.

According to projections, theeconomic activity in 2012 shouldmainly be supported by larger

investments, which should go upby 8.5 percent. In terms of theemployment, a modest growth isexpected and gradual drop of theunemployment rate. In regard tothe stability of the currency rate,presumptions are made that it willbe maintained at the same stableand adequate level of foreign ex-change reserves, Stavreski said.

e draft foresees a 28 percentrise in capital investments andmore funds will be allocated forthe education, health and infra-structure.

is is linked to the govern-ments previous policy on constantgrowth of capital investments aim-

ing to positively change the struc-ture of the total budget and to in-crease the participation of capitalexpenditures, said Stavreski.

e projects are from the sphereof road infrastructure where thelaunch of the realization of Corri-dor 10 is envisaged, the construc-tion of the Demir Kapija-Smokvi-

ca highway, intensive realizationof the regional and local roads,nanced with money from theEuropean Bank for Reconstruc-tion and Development and thestart and nish of other projectsof local meaning, such as the localand regional roads.

Investments for the reconstruc-tion of Corridor 10 will be madeas well as reconstruction of Cor-ridor 8 followed by the construc-

tion of the railway track towardsBulgaria as part of the secondphase. A series of other projectsfor reconstruction of hospitalsand health institutions, prisonsand projects in the education arealso envisaged by using loans ofthe Council of Europes Develop-ment Bank, all elementary schools

will be renovated and sport hallin many elementary schools willbe built.

e GDP growth is projectedat 4.5 percent and the inationat 2.5 percent.

e budget decit for 2012is set at 2.5 percent from GDP

which makes Macedonia once

again part of the countries withthe lowest budget decit. Mace-donia remains a country withlow level of budget decit that

will mainly be nanced with ex-ternal debt while at home, wepredict further development ofthe securities market throughregular three-month emissions

of long-term government secu-rities, ve-year and seven-yearsecurities which we expect to bebought by the pension funds,said Stavreski.

Stavreski said that the budget isrealistic and attainable consider-ing the present circumstances,namely the economic situationin Europe and across the globe,adding that it incorporates allpriorities of the Governmentsplatform. More funds have beenearmarked for the education,health care and infrastructure,including construction of freeeconomic zone.

NATIONAL BUDGET FOR 2012PROJECTED AT 2.75 BILLION EURO

According to Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski, the budget is realistic and attainable considering the present circumstances, namely

the economic situation in Europe and across the globe, adding that it incorporates all priorities of the Governments platform. Morefunds have been earmarked for the education, health care and infrastructure, including construction of free economic zone.

MACEDONIANS SAVING IN CRISIS TOOOn the World Savings Day, 31 October, bankers boasted statists that the household

savings deposits reached 158 billion denars, or some 2.5 b illion euros.

The crisis has not dissuadedMacedonian citizens fromsaving. Despite the high

rate of poverty, towering unem-ployment and persistent uncer-

tainty caused by the economiccrisis in the world, bankers aresatised savings deposits arerising although not at the samespeed as previous years.

On the World Savings Day, 31October, bankers boasted statiststhat the household savings depos-its reached 158 billion denars,or some 2.5 billion euros. eoverall bank savings deposits areestimated at 3.67 billion euros.Deposits of citizens in October2011 relative to the same monthof 2010 went up 13 percent, withdenar deposits rising by 17 percentand euro deposits going up by9.5 percent.

e crisis has not stopped citi-zens from applying for creditseither and so last year creditingof citizens went up 7 percentand crediting of rms increased

6.5 percent. Since the outbreakof the global crisis in 2008 byend September this year, savingsdeposits in Macedonia went up50 percent, the only increase inEurope, National Bank GovernorDimitar Bogov said.

Gjorgji Jancevski, chairman ofthe Banking Association at theEconomic Chamber of Macedo-nia, said that the rise in savingsdeposits is a result of the stabilityof the banking system, and thetrust in banks and the macroeco-nomic stability. In his view, by theend of this year, credit rates arenot going to decline because ofthe market conditions.


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ENERGY

PESEVSKI: POWER MARKET

LIBERALIZATION TO AFFECT PRICE

M

acedonian state-ownedpower p rod uce rELEM has picked a

Swiss consortium to advice onthe implementation of the BoskovMost hydro power plant project.e 58-month contract for adviso-ry services, worth 3.4 million euro

was signed with Swiss companiesStucky and AF Consult.

e assignments of the consul-tants will be divided into severalstages: preparation of nal projectdocuments; preparation of a ten-der for the supply of equipmentand for selecting a contractor forthe construction works and thesite supervision; providing supportin bringing the plant on stream.

e construction of the 70megawatt Boskov Most power

station, which will be locatednear the western town of Debar,should start in the second quarter

of 2012, Macedonias FinanceMinistry said on ursday. Inthe beginning of November, theEuropean Bank for Reconstruc-tion and Development (EBRD)agreed to lend 65 million eurosto Macedonia for construction ofthe Boskov Most hydroelectricproject. ELEM also recruitedadvisors on the Lukovo PoleDam Civil Engineering In-stitute Makedonija to providegeological investigation servicesfor the project whereas GermanPoyry Infra was chosen fromamong ve bidders for the envi-ronmental and social assessmentcontract.

The 7-year research nearthe village of Ilovica inBosilovo Municipality

revealed that in near future oneof the biggest copper and goldmines in Southeast Europe willbe opened here. Most of the totalof 28 digs, the deepest being 650meters, determined deposits ofcopper and gold that are very fa-vorable for economic exploitationconsidering the metal percentagein the ore and the steady increasein copper and gold prices in the

world market of metals.e Canadian company Eu-

romax, conducting the research,has recently issued the report with

the results. Samples of the ore atIlovica were examined in Soa,Bulgaria, in one of the most so-phisticated laboratories for metals.Dr. Quinton Henning, technicaladvisor to the Canadian company,says they are satised with the re-sults and hopes that the ownershipissues will soon be resolved.

Experts estimate that demandin copper and gold in addition tolead and zinc will be steadily ris-ing on our planet. World expertspredict that in 2017 copper willbe sold at 17,000 dollars per tonand that the price of gold will berising annually.

The draft-agreement overproject South Stream, onefork of which is to pass

through Macedonias territory,will be submitted to the countrysauthorities by the year-end, saidDeputy-Minister for RegionalDevelopment and co-chair of theinter-governmental commissionfor commercial-economic andscientic-technical cooperationMaxim Travnikov at meeting withMinister of Transport and Com-munications Mile Janakieski.

e agreement stipulates Mace-donias involvement in SouthStream through increase of gasdeliveries, i.e. enhancement oftechnical possibilities of the exist-ing gas pipeline, as well as con-struction of new ones, in line withagreements concluded betweenRussian company Stroytrans-

gaz and the Macedonian Gov-ernment.

e agreement aims at meetingMacedonias gas needs, includingfuture energy projects built in thecountry, said Travnikov.

Minister Janakieski asked forclosure of technical issues by De-cember, followed by exchange ofocial documents and launchingthe construction of a national gasdistribution network in Mace-donia.

It is realistic to expect a start

of the networks construction nextyear, he stressed.

e meeting also tackled theopening of direct air routes be-tween Macedonia and Russia,

with Travnikov saying he wouldraise the issue before several Rus-sian companies over the possibilityof opening such route.

Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir

Pesevski believes that the liberal-

ization of the energy market will

bring about a price rise primarily

for businesses. As for the heralded

closure of certain firms, he said that

the governments job was making

the market as more efficient as

possible.

The fact that certain firms are

being closed down is an integral

part of the business. In the past we

were also criticized for the sluggish

closing down of businesses with

blocked accounts and in receiver-

ship, Pesevski said.

Some of the negative effects,

he said, are a result of the global

economic crisis and the slowing

down of the economy globally.

In recent years Macedonia dem-

onstrated that it knows how to take

care of its citizens. In the crisis years

it proved it can maintain a controlled

budget deficit not borrowing too

much. Pesevski emphasized.

Asked if measures were consid-

ered to help the population in the

wake of the latest price increase,

Pesevski said the Government was

continuously carrying out policies

that fostered economic development.

There is an energy poverty pro-

gram through which people living on

dole are helped cover some of their

energy costs, he explained.

ADVISORS ON BOSKOV MOSTAND LUKOVO POLE CHOSEN

MINE OF COPPER AND GOLDTO BE OPENED AT ILOVICA

RUSSIA ANNOUNCES SOUTH STREAMDRAFT-AGREEMENT BY YEAR-END


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The number of passen-gers transported throughSkopje airport Alexan-

der the Great and Ohrid -basedSt.Paul the Apostle in Octoberhas increased by 18.9 percentcompared to the same monthin 2010.

A total of 74,703 passengerswere transported this Octobercompared to last years 62,876,said the Ministry of Transportand Communications.

e same trend was registeredin September, with the numberof passengers rising by 25.4 per-cent compared to last year, i.e.82,641 to 65,878.

Macedonian Government hasdecided to grant EUR 1.4 millionin subventions to low-cost airlinesand to that eect a procedure foramending the law on air trac

is already opened, Minister ofTransport and CommunicationsMile Janakieskisaid.

e aim is to attract more air-lines to use the airports in Skopjeand Ohrid, which are expected tointroduce new destinations andcut the ticket prices, Janakieskisaid at the press conference on

what his ministry has done forthe 100 days since the making upof the new Government.

e ministry worked on real-izing the program that won thetrust of the electorate, namelyresuming the reforms for betterinfrastructure, safe transport,inow of new investments andhigher living standard for thecitizens of Macedonia, Janak-ieski said.

Listing the completed projects,he mentioned the reconstructed

MORE PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED THROUGHMACEDONIAN AIRPORTS IN PAST TWO MONTHS

Macedonian Government has decided to grant EUR 1.4 million in subventions to low-cost airlines

and to that eect a procedure for amending the law on air trac is already opened,

Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski said.

TRANSPORT

Minister of Environ-ment and PhysicalPlanning Abdilaqim

Ademi and UNDP ResidentRepresentative to Macedonia,Deirdre Boyd signed agreementfor preparation of a third nationalreport on climate changes andfor using Bulgarias experiencein monitoring, reporting andverication of greenhouse gasemissions, which is essential forthe eective operation of the Eu-

ropean Union Emissions TradingScheme (EU ETS).

e third national report onclimate change should be draftedin the next couple of years withnances in amount of 500.000dollars from the Global Environ-ment Fund.

Reports goal, according toAdemi, is to include the issue ofclimate changes in institutions,priorities to be established with

a time-frame as well as necessarynances required by conditionsstemming from future member-ship to EU to be determined.

Preparing of national reportson climate changes is an obli-gation for Macedonia, being amember country into the UNFramework Convention on Cli-mate Change, minister Ademisaid, adding that the previoustwo reports had been drafted in2003 and 2008.

e project for using Bulgariasexperience in monitoring, report-ing and verication of greenhousegas emission is funded by the Bul-garian government with 40.000

euros and will be implementedin 2012.

Macedonia has made headwayin tackling climate changes andin adapting the most vulnerablesectors, Ademi stated after signingthe documents.

e Environment Ministry,in its capacity as a national coor-dinator, incorporates the climatechange issue in relevant strategicnational documents, adopts leg-islation as stipulated by the UN

Framework Convention on Cli-mate Change and the Kyoto Pro-tocol and fosters bilateral, regionaland multilateral cooperation inconnection to climate changes,the minister noted.

e Ministry implements and isinvolved in many activities backedby the international communityfor cutting down greenhouse gasemissions and for combating cli-mate changes.

UNDPs Deirdre Boyd statedthat climate changes and otherrisks related to the environment

were vital challenges affectingeverything that was surroundingus - water supply, eco systems andfood production.

Countries from all over theworld are obliged to addressclimate change issues, accord-ing to her. e two projects,

which will guide the governmentto take measures on the matter,pave the way towards establishinga national consensus to addressissues related to climate changesin the short and long-term, Boydnoted.

Minister of Environmentand Physical Planning

Abdilaqim Ademi,Charg dAairs of the EU Dele-gation to Macedonia, Robin Lid-dell, and Centar MunicipalityMayor Vladimir Todorovic putinto use an air quality monitoring

station in Skopje downtown.According to Minister Ademi,the purpose of the monitoringstations is to follow the state ofair quality. Similar station hasbeen set in Karpos municipality,totaling 17 nationwide, whereasanother three are planned in east-ern Macedonia.

e air quality depends onweather conditions, with indica-tors rising in autumn and winter,but within the normal limits,said Ademi, adding that cars andconstruction sites are the biggestpolluters.

EU ocial Liddell stressed theissue of environment protection is

important, but also a dicult onethat cannot be solved overnight.

is is a long-term eort inwhich we should all contribute.Lets not drive old vehicles thatpollute, lets not smoke, lets doeverything to protect the environ-ment, said Liddell.

He added that air quality moni-toring and amendments to regula-tions move the country towardsthe highest European standards,

whereas the activities involve theGovernment, the municipalitiesand all citizens.

Mayor Todorovic said the airquality monitoring station meansa lot in the environment protec-tion eld.

If air pollution exceeds theallowed limit, the municipalityand the Ministry of Environ-ment can undertake measures ofreducing the number of vehiclesin the downtown, emphasizedTodorovic.

AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR PREPARATIONOF THIRD NATIONAL REPORT ONCLIMATE CHANGES

AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONIN SKOPJE DOWNTOWN

Skopje Airport Alexander theGreat - an EUR 100 million -investment of the Turkish TAV,construction of the highway 7,6km-long section Tabanovce - Ku-

manovo - EUR 15,5 million,legalization of illegal buildings,procurement of new low-oorand double decker buses.


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ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEENMACEDONIA AND RUSSIA ON THE RISE

ECONOMY MINISTER SARAQINIAT 5. CEFTA JOINT COMMITTEESESSION IN PARIS

NEW MARKETS

T

he economic cooperationbetween the Republic ofMacedonia and the Rus-

sian Federation slowly but cer-tainly is on the rise. e tradeexchange is close to US$600 mil-lion for only nine months of thisyear, Dejan Besliev, director of theMacedonian - Russian EconomicChamber said.

- Prior to 2009 crisis, the tradeexchange reached overall scope ofUS$960 million, although theratio was absolutely in unbalance,Macedonian side participatedonly with US$30 million export.

Afterwards world economic crisisfollowed which caused huge fallin scope of trade exchange. But inthe past two years the cooperationis again on the right track and in

just only nine months the tradeexchange amounted US$600 mil-lion, Besliev said.

He said that inter-governmentalcommission for trade-economicand scientic-technical coopera-

tion has crucial role in creation ofconditions for cooperation.

Besliev said that Macedonia

has made signicant progress increation of conditions for attrac-tion of investments.

- Programme for attractionof foreign investments is givingresults day after day which leadsto increase the number of newinvestors. We want to encour-age potential new investors toconsider investing in Macedoniain tourism, wine and agricul-ture sector, energy and industrialproduction which has success-ful tradition in cooperation withRussian partners, Besliev said.

Macedonian-Russian Econom-ic Chamber was formed in 2005.e main diculties that are fac-ing with are continuous exchangeof data with Russian partners inregard to law regulations, businessdemand and oer by companiesin the two countries.

CEFTA countries repre-sent a signicant tradingpartner for the Republic

of Macedonia, whereas exchangewith these states in 2011 amount-ed to approximately 28 percent of

Macedonias total trade exchange,stressed Economy Minister ValonSaraqini at the 5. CEFTA JointCommittee session in Paris,chaired by the Republic of Ko-sovo. Saraqini informed thatMacedonia ratied the AdditionalProtocol for agriculture liberaliza-tion in September, followed byits enforcement with Albaniaand Croatia as of November.

Minister Saraqini presentedMacedonias efforts in imple-mentation of the Central Eu-ropean Free Trade Agreement(CEFTA), which should facili-tate the countrys path to EUaccession negotiations, as well

as achievements with regards tobusiness climate.

is is demonstrated throughMacedonias recent ranking at the

World Banks Doing Business list(22) and the third spot as the

worlds top reformer. e latestEuropean Commission reportrepresents another conrmationthat the country is successfullycoping with challenges of thecurrent global economic situa-tion, said Saraqini.

e Economy Minister alsostressed the positive aspect ofthe Multilateral MonitoringFramework over the eliminationof non-tari barriers, a projectimplemented by the Organisa-tion for Economic Co-operationand Development (OECD),aimed at establishing a systemfor regular identication of non-tari barriers.

T

he entrepreneur gets theopportunity to take partat the entire South Amer-

ican market by cooperating withArgentina. e country representsthe door to the South Americaneconomic community MERCO-SUR with a market of 298 millionconsumers, a GDP of US$ 3,3trillion and US$ 11,018 per capi-ta, said Guillermo Salvador Azrak,Soa-based Ambassador of Ar-gentina to Macedonia, at the Eco-nomic Chamber of Macedonia.

Ambassador Azrak said MER-COSUR includes Argentina,Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguayas full-edged members, as well asBolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecua-dor, Peru and Venezuela associatemembers.

According to him, the Argen-tinean Embassy is always open forMacedonian businessmen.

Relations and exchange be-tween Macedonia and Argentinaare currently limited, but I amconvinced there is enormous

room for enlargement of coop-eration. ere is a possibility forexchange of commodities, know-how and resources, said Azrakprior to the presentation.

He stressed that Argentina isa leader in production of foodproducts, whereas countrys en-terprises would cooperate withMacedonian counterparts if thelater show interest.

ere are also possibilities forcooperation in the energy eld,since natural gas is used for ve-hicles and households in Argen-tina. is is a special technologythat enables the gas distributionto places that have no pipelines.I believe there are already initia-tives for use of such technology inMacedonia, added Azrak.

Macedonia-Argentina trade

exchange amounted to US$14,8 million in 2010, mostly inimport of soybean and frozenfish, followed by corn, lemonand peanuts.

PROMOTION OF ARGENTINEANECONOMY, MARKET IN MACEDONIA

ONLY 5 PERCENT

OF MACEDONIAN FIRMS EXPORT

Companies should put out innova-

tive and competitive products, as

managers should be more coura-

geous in capturing new markets,even in the outcries with a higher

economic growth, such as China,

India, Korea, etc, said Economy

Minister Valon Saraqini at the 7th

conference on export promotion.

Currently only 5 percent of the

Macedonian firms are exporting

their output, which is of relative-

ly low value. However, in recent

years there has been a positive

export trend. Exports in the past

three years went up 80 percent

from the previous three years.

Expectations are that by end

2011 exports will have increased

by 21.2 percent and imports by 20.2

percent from last year, Minister

Saraqini said. He encouraged the

business sector to communicate

with the authorities because, he said,

in recent years most corporate rec-

ommendations have been incorpo-

rated in the government programs.The competitiveness of a coun-

try is measured by its export, said

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic

Aairs Vladimir Pesevski. In his view,

the new promoters have already

been trained and will be sent to a

number of countries.

The Federation of Economic

Chambers suggests forming of a

national body for fair promotion of

small and medium businesses that

have no capacity to participate in

world fairs on their own.

Some 40,000 micro and small

businesses are incapable of captur-

ing foreign markets and therefore

have to team up and create an oer

of good quality and quantity, the

Federation says.


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In the period between 1999and 2010, the number of ho-tels in Macedonia went up

by 51.2 percent, from 82 to 124.However, the number of hotelrooms during the same perioddropped by 4.5 percent, from5,916 to 5,651 while the numberof beds dropped by 13 percent,from14,564 to 12,734. is ispart of the statistical analysis ofthe work entitled Macedonianhotels in times of changes by Ra-madan Ismaili from Tetovos StateUniversity, Faculty of Economics-department of tourism and Mitre

Avramoski from the Ohrid-basedFaculty of Tourism. ey say thatthe reason for this is the chaotictransition and the closing of manyhotels built in former Yugoslaviaand the construction or closing ofmany smaller hotels, as result of

the changes in the tourist demand.e thing which shows that

the hotels coped poorly in thetransition is the fact that the hotelrooms in the overall hotel accom-modation in the country onlyparticipated with 22 percent lastyear. Namely, while there wereonly 5, 651 hotel rooms last yearin the country in all categories ofhotels, rooms in other types ofaccommodation capacities (pri-

vate, mountain homes, hostels,holiday resorts, health resorts)totaled as much as 20,538. edierence is even bigger with thebeds since the hotels only had

12, 734 beds last year while theother capacities as much as 56,368 beds, which means that thehotel industry only participates

with 18.9 percent in the totalnumber of available beds.

However, tourists prefer thehotel accommodation than othertourist capacities. If the hotels ownonly 22 percent of the overall ca-pacity of rooms and 18.9 percentof beds, as much as 33 percent oftourists would stay in hotels.

Nevertheless, over 458 foreigntourists that visited Macedonialast year stayed in hotels and onlysomewhat above 100 thousand inother accommodation capacities.e situation is reverse with theMacedonian tourists as 229,000of them stayed in hotels while 1.23million in other accommodationcapacities.

e hotels are, however, facinga dierent problem that has beengetting worse over the last fewyears the poor utilization of thecapacities. In 1999, it totaled 19.3percent while in 2007, it totaled

just 12.2 percent. Authors say thatthe lack of hotels of renownedhotel chains shows that we havea fragmented hotel industry inMacedonia without chances forconsolidation, which, according

to them, increases the role of thecountry in attracting foreign in-vestments in this sector in orderto solve the problem with the lackof branded hotels.

TOURISM

GROWING NUMBER OF HOTELS INMACEDONIA BUT DECLINING NUMBEROF ROOMS AND BEDSTourists prefer the hotel accommodation than other tourist capacities. If the hotels

own only 22 percent of the overall capacity of rooms and 18.9 percent of beds, as

much as 33 percent of tourists would stay in hotels.

ALBANIAN TOUR OPERATORSVISITING MACEDONIA

MACEDONIAN BUSINESS MONTHLY

Editor: Sonja Kiridzievska; Contributor: Sonja Efremova;

Chief translation: Marina Efremovska

Macedonian Information Centre

Internet:

www.micnews.com.mk

[email protected]@micnews.com.mk

Director: Dragan Antonov; Editor-in-Chief: Mircela Dzuvalekovska - Casule

2011 MIC, All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced in anyform without permission form the Macedon ian Information Centre. Te content publishedin the Macedonian Business Month ly do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.Te publisher is not liable for errors.

Address:

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Phone/Fax:

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No. 112, Vol. XI, November 2011

TOURISTS FROM THE NETHERLANDSAND BELGIUM REVISIT OHRID

ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION BOOTHSTO BE BUILT ALONG CORRIDOR 10

In spring, new tourists fromthe Netherlands and Belgium

will visit Macedonia throughOhrid-based tourist agency Gen-

eral Tourist Ohrid.e traditional tourists from

the Netherlands will be arriv-ing to Ohrid two times a weekfrom Amsterdam to Ohrid withcharter ights of airline Arke-y TUI, starting from 27 April2012, said Ana Cukalevska fromtourist agency General TouristOhrid.

Belgian tourists will also bearriving two times a week with

JetAirFly TUI.

General Tourist Ohrid an-nounces that there will be greateroers of hotel capacities in orderfor the foreign tourists to enjoy

better quality services.

The state road agency in-tends to use part of theloan from the EBRD for

reconstruction of the existing andmounting of new electronic tollcollection points along Corridor10, the Bank said. e project,

which has two stages, is expectedto cost 17 million euros.

e rst stage is going to coverthe reconstruction of 5 existingtoll collection booths and the con-

struction of the rst of four newtoll collection points at Tabanovcenear the border with Serbia. esecond stage includes construc-tion of the remaining three newcollection points. e tender pro-cedure is expected to begin in therst quarter of 2012. In the draftbudget 2012, the Governmentallocated 7.5 billion denars, or122 million euros, for the roadand rail infrastructure.

M

avrovo and PopovaSapka are attractivedestinations for tour-

ists from neighboring Albania.Some 30 journalists and touroperators from Albanian are ona visit to these winter resorts. egoal of their visit is promotinghome winter tourism.

At the moment, Albania lackswinter resorts, such as Mavrovoand Popova Sapka, which boastexcellent conditions for wintertourism, that is the main reason

why we have come, said SokolKongoli from the national tour-ism agency of Albania.

We are considering creatinga joint tourist product between

Macedonia and Albania, saidEconomy Minister Valon Sara-qini.

We believe that Albania hasplenty to oer as far summer tour-ism is concerned and we can oer

winter tourism to the vast mar-ket in Albania and therefore thisproject is being realized ahead ofthe new winter season, said VeleTrpevski, Macedonian Ambas-sador to Albania.

In order to promote tourism,the government considered thepossibility of subsidizing ten mu-nicipalities for drafting strategiesfor development of eco and alter-native tourism.


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AGRICULTURE

THE EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE POLICY

SHOULD GUIDE THE MACEDONIAN FARMER

T

he Republic of Macedo-nia in the following 12months is to preside with

the meetings ofthe Ministers ofAgriculture from South-EasternEurope (SEE) which is particular-ly important for the Macedonianagriculture; said Minister LjupcoDimovski at this years meeting ofthe Ministers of Agriculture fromSEE. According to him, this is re-gional coordination of the coun-tries in the agricultural politics incontext to the directions on theEU common agricultural policy.

We must accept the policy ofthe EU in the sphere of using theIPARD-funds, said Dimovski.He voiced content that the Euro-pean Commission accepted ourrecommendation in the part ofextending the list of measuresfor the Macedonian agriculture.

e created agricultural policy,he said, is very close to the EUcommon agricultural policy.

A new five-year policy isbeing passed at the moment

in Brussels and as a member-candidate, we must accept allof these changes and implementthem and build standards that

are required of us for success-ful promotion on the agricul-tural markets, Dimovski said.

Agriculture Minister of Mon-tenegro, Tarzan Milosevic, as-sessed that such forums in theregion could help promote theagricultural cooperation and de-velopment. Friedrich Wackerfrom Germanys Ministry of Ag-riculture emphasized that the im-portance to improve the compet-itiveness of this region is major.

Dean of the Faculty of Agricul-tural Science and Food, DraganDimitrievski, says that this meet-ing is quite important becausethe new policy for 2014-1020was presented at the highest level.A policy that will be implement-ed in the EU and that shouldguide the Macedonian farmer.

e politics of the countriesfrom the region that will adjustin order to join the EU shoulddo this because always when theagricultural policy is created forcountries that are EU candidates,

their policies need to be builtaccording to those policies thatare being implemented in theEU, said Dimitrievski.

DIMOVSKI:PAYMENT OF SUBSIDIES IS REGULAR

PROFESSIONAL ISRAELI ASSISTANCEFOR MACEDONIAS RURAL TOURISM

Payment of subsidies is

regular, in line with theregulations, and taking intoaccount submitted applications byfarmers, said Minister of Agricul-ture, Forestry and Water EconomyLjupco Dimovski.

A number of farmers associa-tions and unions have requested anextension of the deadlines for sub-mission of applications. We havemanaged to shorten the timeframefor controls as much as possible,so that they get the funds as soonas possible, Minister Dimovskitold journalists after todays pressconference on the ministrys ac-tivities in the past 100 days sincethe Governments composition.

He said EUR 130 million of the

2012 draft-budget are allocatedfor agriculture subsidies, of whichEUR 20-25 million for nancialsupport of rural development,

whereas the remaining for nan-cial support of agriculture.

Dimovski expects the paymentof subsidies for this year to becompleted within the legal time-frame - June 2012.

is is a common practice inall EU member-states. We haveharmonized our legislation withthe Union law in numerous acts,including these deadlines, un-derlined Agriculture MinisterDimovski.

The Republic of Macedoniahas ideal conditions fordevelopment of the rural

tourism, the kind of tourism thatIsrael developed twenty years agoup to the present, say Israeli ruraltourism experts. ey say that itis indispensable for the govern-ment, nongovernmental sectorand farmers need to work togetheron the concept for developmentof the rural tourism. is strategyhelped the Israeli farmers two de-cades ago to successfully overcomethe economic crisis. Macedoniadoes not have great experiencein the development of the ruraltourism and therefore, accordingto Agriculture Minister LjupcoDimovski, any help and supportis especially important to us.

In Dimovskis view, the ruraldevelopment is one of the Govern-ments priorities. Twenty million

euro of support is planned for nextyear. Most of the funds will beused for promotion of the infra-structure in the rural areas as thebasis for preventing people fromleaving the villages as well as devel-opment of the alternative tourism.

e wine tourism is especiallyimportant to us. e Republicof Macedonia is a traditionalproducer of great and qualityamounts of grapes and therefore,the wine tourism is one of ourpriorities too. is concept is nowsuccessfully realized through the

wine routes in which few greaterwineries are involved in, concludesAgriculture Minister Dimovski.

MOLDAVIA INTERESTED IN THE

MACEDONIA WINE SECTOR

The trade exchange of ag-ricultural food productsbetween the Republic

of Macedonia and Moldaviais low, said Minister LjupcoDimovski following the meet-ing with Moldavian Ministerof Agriculture Viorel Gutu.Moldavian Deputy MinisterGutu pointed out that Mol-davia has an excellent team ofexperts involved in the processof consolidation that began tenyears ago and that it could helpsimplifying this process in theRepublic of Macedonia.

e Republic of Macedonia ismore advanced in the harmoni-

zation of the EU regulative andwe could use your experiences,Gutu said. His assessment is thatthe Republic of Macedonia hadmade huge advancement in the

wine sector too.

Minister Dimovski said thatthe Macedonian Governmentbacks the wine sector.

It is excellent news that wesucceed to promote the wine onforeign markets even in times ofglobal wine crisis. We are espe-cially proud that despite the tra-ditional markets, we also conquernew markets such as the Japanese

where the rst greater amounts ofMacedonian wine were recentlypromoted, said Dimovski.

One of the conditions for re-ducing the wine reserves is tocancel the excises and the wineto be put on the list of food andnot alcoholic products, Dimovs-

ki said. A campaign for sale onforeign markets is indispensable

which will secure sale of largerquantities of wine but it is of cru-cial importance for producers ofgrapes and wine to cooperate.

Macedonian Business Monthly 112-2011

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Transcript of Macedonian Business Monthly 112-2011