Page 97 - SE Outlook Regions 2022

(€110mn) will be invested in the biggest plant in Balti. The processing
capacity will increase to about 324,000 tonnes of raw material.

Swiss group Schoeni, active in the food processing and transport
sectors, is investing €1.5mn in a 2,000 square metre fruit and vegetable
processing plant in Moldova. The factory is scheduled for completion in
May-June 2022 when it will start operating. It is the first production
capacity developed abroad by Schoeni, the Swiss group that was set
up in 1920. Located in the southern part of the country in Stefan Voda
district, the plant will be in an industrial park developed by Free
Economic Zone (FEZ) Balti.

In the first year of operations, the company, which operates through
local subsidiary His East, targets a turnover of MDL18mn (€0.86mn).
The output will be exported to Switzerland and other European
countries.

3.7 Real economy - Montenegro

3.7.1 Retail

Montenegro’s retail sales suffered from the restrictions imposed by the
government to contain the coronavirus in the first three months of 2021,
but as the government started gradually easing the restrictions, sales
returned to growth in Q2 and improved significantly in Q3 thanks to the
strong summer tourist season. In 2022, retail trade is expected to
further improve if the coronavirus pandemic allows for good tourist
seasons over the summer and winter.

Retail sales measured at constant prices increased 40% year on year in
the third quarter of 2021, accelerating from the 19.3% y/y hike in Q2,
according to the latest available statistics office data. Measured in
current prices, retail trade expanded 45.1% y/y in the third quarter after
increasing by 22.5% y/y in the second quarter.

97 SE Outlook 2022 www.intellinews.com