Macedonia this year exported 80 percent more compared with last year, and only in April exports increased to around € 100 million, says Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones CEO, Viktor Mizo.
According to data from the State Statistical Office, in the first three months of this year exports increased by 17 percent and imports by 13 percent.
The increase in exports, according to Mizo, is mostly due to foreign investments, which not only helped in the revival of the economy and reducing unemployment, but changed the structure of exports.
- In the first 4 months of the year, total exports from the zones reached figure of about € 350 million, and it is mostly due to the second phase of Johnson Matthey, Johnson Controls in Stip, Van Hool, but also Kemet Electronics, said Mizo in a statement to Kurir.
It is important that there is an increase in exports of about € 100 million in April.
This according to Mizo means that we are on track to pass the planned figure of about € 1.2 billion of export from zones by the end of the year.
- We have never had € 350 million exports within 4 months, which is historically highest exports in this period and I think that it will be historically biggest export in Macedonia, because the contribution of these zones last year was about 25 percent and I think this year there is a possibility to overcome that percent with the contribution of exports from the zones, Mizo added.
According to university professor and economic expert Tome Nenovski, data released by the SSO is extremely high, emphasizing that the increase of 17 percent for a quarter is the highest export that Macedonia had in past years.
According to Nenovski, it is characteristic that growing export from month to month allows to increase the coverage of imports with exports, which in February was about 45.1 percent, and in March reached 65.6 percent, which will have a positive impact on the GDP increase in Macedonia.
He added that over 80 percent of exports are marketed in countries of the EU.
- Increasing exports shows a tendency of ending the crisis period in the Macedonian economy and the data confirm that our entrepreneurs are liberated from the constraints of the crisis and found new markets, especially in Western Europe. Export of catalysts used for the needs of the automotive industry, iron, steel and even clothes have the strongest impact on overall exports. It is particularly important that the textile is again placed on the markets of Western Europe, Nenovski concluded.
