Page 8 - TURKRptJun22

8 I Companies & Markets bne June 2022
This was due to the irregular water supply in the eastern Ovche Pole region that caused a drastic decline in yield, so farmers opted not to plant this crop anymore.
Recently, the government also decided to abolish customs duty on imports of sunflower cooking oil, but the measure did not lower the price of this product.
“Prices of cherries may drop in summer as farmers cannot sell them in Russia and Ukraine which were the main export countries for this fruit”
As regards wheat, Serbia approved the export of wheat and corn to North Macedonia on April 7, following the one-month export ban. The agriculture ministry in Skopje also had plans to import wheat from Bulgaria.
According to the US’ International Trade Administration, North Macedonia imports most of its grain. The country is estimated to import one-third of its wheat per year. There is insufficient domestic production of corn to meet domestic consumption.
Prices for wheat in the global grain market have already soared to decade-long highs as the war in Ukraine shuts down ports and threatens to disrupt this year’s grain harvest, while there are fears Russia may respond to western sanctions by banning grain exports.
The government’s new strategy
“In order to have even greater domestic production, we make every free agricultural area available for the production of strategic crops. The goal of this measure is to stabilise and increase domestic production, and thus reduce the import dependence on strategic crops,” the agriculture ministry
told bne IntelliNews.
The land will be given exclusively for growing strategic crops, such as wheat, corn, barley, sunflower, rye, rice, oats and oilseed rape.
Dragan, a greengrocer from Skopje, said in an informal conversation that North Macedonia is suitable for agricultural production, but it is a shame that the authorities neglected the sector.
“Instead of the authorities stimulating farmers to grow sunflowers, now the shelves are left without cooking oil,” he said. Not only sunflower, but wheat and other crops can be planted more widely, he added.
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On the other hand, Dragan expects prices of some fruits to drop in summer as farmers can no longer export to the war- stricken countries.
“Prices of cherries may drop in summer as farmers cannot sell them in Russia and Ukraine which were the main export countries for this fruit,” he said.
However, the authorities said that North Macedonia is looking for alternative markets for exports of fruit and vegetables
that have so far been exported to Russia and Ukraine, the two markets which are closed for exports following the war which started on February 24.
The agriculture ministry told bne IntelliNews that the government adopted a National Plan for food production, which incorporates a MKD400mn (€6.5mn) Intervention Fund, to support the production of strategic crops.
With these measures, farmers will receive 40% additional assistance to buy fertilisers for corn and maize, as well as MKD2,500 per hectare for soybean and barley.
"We are motivating farmers to increase yields, with an additional almost €100 per hectare," the ministry said. Applications for these measures are already underway.
The ministry also announced a public call for the allocation of an additional 5,722 hectares of agricultural land in 14 municipalities.
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said earlier that the same applies to the livestock sector, which means subsidies for sheep, pig and poultry breeding.
In March, North Macedonia’s government adopted a package of 26 measures and recommendations divided into two categories – for protection of living standards of citizens and maintaining the liquidity and financial support of companies worth €400mn to ease the effects of the economic crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
European Investment Bank (EIB) vice-president Lilyana Pavlova said recently during a conference in Skopje that sustainable agriculture, especially food production, should be high on the EIB agenda.
“This is particularly important taking into account the impact of the war in Ukraine, which will likely affect the global agricultural market,” Pavlova said.
Pavlova added that EIB will support projects in the Western Balkans that will help countries dependent on food imports to boost their domestic production and improve the overall supply chain.
Protests as inflation eats away pay checks
How such issues will be dealt with in future depends on the government’s policy, but there are high levels of dissatisfaction among the population as prices soar.