Page 121 - SE Outlook Regions 2023

3.8.6 Major Sectors

Agribusiness is one of the most promising sectors in the country, which
accounted for 8.6% of GDP according to 2020 data. It also accounted
for 11.6% of the total trade.

North Macedonia’s government allocated €193mn for the agricultural
sector in the 2023 state budget, which is up by €45mn compared to this
year.

The 2023 farm budget is based on five key pillars – agricultural
reforms, support of small family businesses, capital investments in the
water supply sector, green transition and modernisation.

Agricultural production increased by a real 3.5% y/y in the third quarter
of 2022.

3.9 Real economy - Romania

3.9.1 Retail
Retail sales increased by 4.8% y/y in the 12-month period to October
2022, but the growth rate visibly slowed from the average 7.1% annual
advance over the 2016-2021 period. Short-term dynamics of the
seasonally-adjusted data reveal that the volume of retail sales has
stagnated since mid-2022 and decreased for the food and non-food
segments. Even if the decline is only marginal and not likely to
accelerate, the outlook for private consumption is modest. Even the
state forecasting body projects a 2.7% advance in private consumption
in 2023 (half the 5.4% advance estimated for 2022).

121 SE Outlook 2023 www.intellinews.com