World Country Guide

Business Profile

Economy
As the smallest of the six former Yugoslav republics, Macedonia accounted for just 6 per cent of total Yugoslav output. It was the most dependent on federal government subsidies but these vanished along with guaranteed markets in Yugoslavia (now Serbia & Montenegro) when the old central economic planning system ceased in 1991. Since then the economy has been further undermined by regional strife – the civil war in the neighbouring Serbian province of Kosovo, instability in Albania and, most recently, the conflict between the government and Albanian nationalists – which has also deterred investment from the region. The economy shrank consistently throughout the 1990s; in 2001, it contracted by 5 per cent.
Macedonia has a predominantly agricultural economy in which the main products are rice, wine and wheat (for export), fruit and vegetables, cheese, lamb and tobacco for domestic consumption. Food processing is a major component of the industrial sector, which also produces metal goods, chemicals and textiles. Many families are dependent for their survival on remittances from migr Macedonians working elsewhere in Europe. Unemployment remains exceptionally high at around 40 per cent, with the result that a thriving black economy – a characteristic of most of the southern Balkans – is operating. Reconstruction in Macedonia is closely linked to a number of factors: the settlement of the territorial dispute with Greece; the cancellation of old debts from the Yugoslav era; and the resolution of the conflict with Albanian nationalists. All have improved Macedonia’s economic prospects. Thus, in the spring of 2002, international donors including the IMF, World Bank and the European Union, were able to authorise a US$500 million aid package.

Business
Suits and ties are correct attire for men, with skirt, blouse and tights the accepted attire for women. English, French and German are spoken in most business circles. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1530.

Commercial Information
The following organisations can offer advice: National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, Kompleks Banki bb, PO Box 401, 1000 Skopje (tel: (2) 3108 108; fax: (2) 3108 357; e-mail: governorsoffice@nbrm.gov.mk; website: www.nbrm.gov.mk); or Economic Chamber of Macedonia, PO Box 324, St Dimitrie Cupovski br. 13, 1000 Skopje (tel: (2) 3116 543; fax: (2) 3116 210; e-mail: ic@ic.mchamber.org.mk; website: http://info.mchamber.org.mk).