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Economic Chamber of Macedonia

years bsi. ISO
9001
1922 - 2016
Quality
Management

СТОПАНСКА КОМОРА НА МАКЕДОНИЈАFS549642

Osnovana 1922

ECONOMIC CHAMBER OF MACEDONIA

Founded 1922

numerous limitations and barriers facing the basic metals industry over the past period, including
high costs of energy sources, poor road infrastructure and limited access to finance. Thus, in
addition to the extremely unfavorable conditions on the global market, local metallurgy companies
must work amid rising fixed operating costs due to various systemic decisions, a situation that
influences their competitive position in the immediate and wider business environment.

The Southeast Europe region is experiencing a similar set of conditions, which were presented
at the Seventh International Metallurgy Congress in Ohrid entitled: “Metallurgy, Materials and
Environment.” The metallurgy sector is crucial for the national economies of SEE countries.
At present, the sector is experiencing a rather complex situation in all countries. This calls
for a discussion on the prospects of this industry, which remains an important factor in small
countries at the lower-end of the income scale, which export over 80 % of their total output. The
tradition for this industry in SEE lives on; the countries have working facilities, have inherited
the infrastructure, and have available workforce, albeit this factor has a declining tendency.
Macedonia, similarly to the region where it belongs, manufactures goods that are on the lower-end
of the finalization stage, usually in the framework of an outsourced manufacturing process.

Efforts to develop this sector further require the governments of countries in the region to
show that they truly need this industry and to create conditions to help overcome constraints
to this sector stemming from national legislations, thereby setting a level playing field in the
current market economy. First of all, unresolved issues related to energy stability, such as the
heavy burden imposed by the so-called ‘green energy’ and high prices of gas, in addition to high
transportation costs, continue to be a problem in Macedonia.

Another important question which begs for an answer is to determine whether we have a product
at all. If there is no possibility to move to a higher product finalization stage in the basic metals
sector, then the future development of this industry cannot be truly discussed. Therefore, the next
steps should include an analysis of the opportunities and development of guidelines to launch
production of goods with higher value-added.

To achieve this, businesses should pay more attention to networking and cooperation, starting at
the regional level, a concept quite familiar to countries in SEE. In addition, regional academic and
industrial ties should be established to help assess and encourage the development of metallurgy-
related industries. Such connections are the only way to address the two crucial issues in this field:
products and further development.

Zorica Meshkova

July-August 2016 89