Macedonia Trade Gap Widens To 2.24 Bln Eur

Skopje | 04 February 2009 | Macedonia’s foreign trade deficit  rose by over 50 percent in 2008 in comparison with the previous year, marking a staggering 2.24 billion euro deficit , data from the State Statistical Office shows.

The trade gap in 2007 was 1.447 billion euros. Macedonia’s exports rose by 18 percent last year to 3 billion euros while imports climbed by 31 percent to a total of 5.3 billion euros.

The data shows that Macedonia exports mainly ferro-nickel, iron and steel products and clothes. It imports mainly crude oil, electricity, and motor vehicles.

Macedonia’s biggest trading partner is the European Union. Almost 60 percent of Macedonia’s goods end up on the EU marker, and 48 percent of Macedonia’s imports are from there, the data shows.

The region of the Western Balkans is second with exports of 35 percent. Macedonia’s main trade partners in 2008 were Serbia, Germany, Greece, Russia and Italy, with a combined share of almost 50 percent of all trade.

At the end of last year the country felt the first pinch of the global economic downturn, and Macedonia’s flagship metal industry is now struggling to survive.

(Reporting by Sinisa-Jakov Marusic) Balkaninsight

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