8.

Overview of the Rural Economy and Growth at National Level

Agriculture
Agriculture, along with hunting, forestry, fishing and fisheries, as one of the largest sectors, has
remained a relatively stable sector over the years, accounting for about 10-12% of total GDP.
According to the State Statistical Office, in 2017, in the creation of gross value added in
agriculture, the Southeast Region has the largest share with 31.2%, followed by the Pelagonija
Region with 22.1%, while the smallest share has the Northeast Region with 3.4%. This sector
has made a great contribution to the national economy, although there are potentials that are
not fully utilized.
Macedonian agriculture has been facing major challenges in the last 20 years, such as WTO
membership, the EU Agreement, CEFTA membership, which have expanded opportunities to
increase exports, but at the same time increase domestic competition.
To support the development of agriculture, the Government is subsidizing the sector with
budget funds, which in 2007 amounted to a total of 20 million euros, while in 2018 the total
subsidies amounted to 140 million euros. But despite all the support, production results in the
agricultural sector did not increase significantly.
In terms of employment, according to data from the State Statistical Office, the agricultural
sector declined. The table below gives the statistics for the employment of the population in
the period 2016-2018.
Employees in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector in the period 2016-2018
2016 2017 2018
Number of active population 948.599 954.212 957.623
Total number of employees 723.550 740.648 759.054
Number of employees in the agriculture, forestry
and fisheries sector 120.303 120.311 119.337

Source: State Statistical Office

According to data from the State Statistical Office, agricultural land (arable land and pastures) in
2017 covers about 1,266,000 hectares or 49% of the total area, and in 2018 that area is about
1,264,000 hectares. In 2018, compared to 2017, agricultural land decreased by 0.1%. As for
arable land, an increase was registered in the plowed fields and gardens sectors by 0.3%, in the
orchards by 1.7% and in the vineyards by 1.6%. A decrease was observed in meadows by 0.4%
and in pastures by 0.5%.
Agricultural land by categories of use
2016 2017 2018
Agricultural area 1.267.134 1.266.008 1.264.139
Arable land 516.644 516.870 518.740
Plowed fields and gardens 417.456 416.709 418.140
 Orchards 16.138 16.546 16.827
Vineyards 23.613 23.703 24.088
Meadows 59.437 59.912 59.685
Pastures 749.772 748.413 744.667
Source: State Statistical Office
Almost half of the agricultural land is arable, and the other half is pasture. The largest share in
the area under arable land and orchards in 2016, have cereals sown on a total area of 167,683
hectares or about 32.5% of arable land, in 2017 the total sown area with cereals is 161,289
hectares. While in 2018, sown area with grain is 166,664 hectares. The rest of the land is sown
with industrial, horticultural and fodder crops.
With Macedonia's accession to the World Trade Organization, the signing of the Free Trade
Agreement with the EU and its ratification in 2007, with the launch of CEFTA 2006, the
agreement signed in 2006 achieved a complete duty-free trade regime in the region, and thus
significant increase in exports as well as imports of primary agricultural and agricultural - food
products.
Commodity exchange of agricultural products for the period 2016-2018
Export Import
2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018
RM total 309.048.85 420.859.86
270.407.829 361.222.203 380.426.363 472.173.953
0 0
Agricultural
products, forestry 14.152.011 14.792.875 14.248.135 8.968.206 8.145.101 8.230.933
products and fishing
Agricultural product
participation in the
5,2% 4,8% 3,9% 2,4% 1,9% 1,7%
total commodity
exchange

Source: State Statistical Office

From the above table it can be determined that in the period 2016-2018, total exports and
imports tend to increase, while exports and imports of agricultural products, forestry products
and fishing, from year to year recorded a declining percentage of total goods exchange.
The gross value added in agriculture is created by the agricultural holdings, which according to
the latest research of the State Statistical Office, in 2016 their number was 178,125. Of the total
number of agricultural holdings, 99.84% (ie 177,845) belong to the individual sector, and 0.16%
(ie 280) are business entities. The total land used by agricultural holdings is 320,738 hectares
and each agricultural holding uses an average of 1.8 hectares of agricultural land.
The use of agricultural land by categories is shown in the following table:
Used agricultural land by categories in ha
Total Plowed Orchards Vineyards Meadows Pastures Nurseries
 fields
and
gardens
Republic of 320.73
Macedonia 8 248.269 18.919 20.612 25.561 7.068 309
Individual sector 271.989 209.761 16.534 14.178 25.340 6.101 74
Business entities 48.749 38.508 2.385 6.434 221 967 234
Source: State Statistical Office
Plant production has the largest share in the value of agricultural production. According to the
data from the State Statistical Office, the table below shows the economic accounts in
agriculture at constant prices, for the period 2012-2017.
Current accounts / Product account - in millions of denars / at prices from the previous year
Description 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Cereals 6.500 7.659 8.846 6.539 6.614 4.752
Industrial plants 4.850 5.199 5.150 4.427 4.559 4.693
Fodder plants 3.835 4.875 5.347 5.451 6.624 5.852
Gardening products 22.786 25.525 27.788 31.011 31.546 25.915
Potatoes 2.600 2.184 3.870 3.181 2.883 2.230
Fruit 7.731 8.706 6.661 9.880 8.509 5.795
Wine 2.016 2.952 2.790 3.974 3.103 2.099

Gardening products have the most significant share in the value of agricultural production,
which in 2017 amounted to 25,915 million denars. Gardening as one of the most important sub-
sectors of agricultural production, which has great export potential, is represented at 52,386
ha. Of the cereals, wheat is the most common and in 2017 it was sown on an area of 72,965 ha.
Tobacco, on the other hand, is the main industrial crop, accounting for 15,961 ha. Alfalfa as a
leading forage crop, in 2017 was planted on 19,487 ha.

Livestock Raising
Livestock breeding belongs to the agricultural branch – livestock farming. Its main purpose is to
provide high quality meat and dairy products. Our country is suitable for the development of
this sector. Almost half of the total agricultural land belongs to pastures, which represent
ecologically clean zones, which are mostly used for sheep breeding, while the breeding of other
cattle takes place on farms - individual (domestic) and specialized farms. Livestock farming,
which includes: cattle breeding, sheep breeding, pig breeding, goat farming, poultry and
beekeeping, is largely developed in the hilly and mountainous areas of our country.
Although there is great potential for the development of this branch, it has not been rationally
used. This causes Macedonia to be a net importer of raw meat and dairy products, while it is a
net exporter of lamb and in certain years, eggs. Given the fact that livestock feed produced in
our area does not meet the needs of livestock, Macedonia largely depends on the import of
animal feed.
According to the State Statistical Office, in 2018, compared to 2017, the total number of cattle
increased by 0.4%. The number of cattle in individual agricultural holdings increased by 0.9%,
while the number of cattle in business entities (agricultural enterprises and agricultural
cooperatives) decreased by 14.8%. The number of pigs in business entities in 2018, compared
to 2017, increased by 17.9%, while in individual agricultural holdings it decreased by 12.0%. An
increase in the number of sheep was registered in individual agricultural holdings by 0.9%, and
in business entities their number decreased by 17.2%. In the same period, the number of goats
in individual agricultural holdings increased by 27.8%, and in business entities by 9.0%. The
number of poultry in 2018, compared to the previous year, decreased by 0.6%. 1
Number of livestock and poultry, 2017-2018
Individual Individual
Business Business
Total agricultural Total agricultural
entities entities
businesses businesses
Cattle 255.036 7.699 247.337 256.181 6.559 249.622
Cattle up to 69.630 1.588 68.042
69.654 1.541 68.113
1 year
Cattle from 17.479 985 16.494
14.771 857 13.914
1 to 2 years
Cattle over 169.072 3.986 165.086
170.611 5.301 165.310
2 years
Pigs 202.197 59.036 143.161 195.538 69.605 125.933
Piglets up to 53.741 26.496 27.245
61.266 17.815 43.451
20 kg
Pigs from 21 37.967 15.858 22.109
34.338 10.762 23.576
to 50 kg
Pigs for 80.101 20.640 59.461
80.019 24.941 55.078
fattening
Sows that 4.271 2.025 2.246
haven’t yet 5.552 1.584 3.968
birthed
Birthing 18.920 4.488 14.432
20.162 3.832 16.330
Sows
Breeding 538 98 440
860 102 758
males
Sheep 724.555 22.174 702.381 726.990 18.349 708.641
Lambs 116.933 3.758 113.175 113.690 2.682 111.008

1
Source: State Statistical Office
 Sheep for 579.747 14.736 565.011
565.063 16.805 548.258
breeding
Rams and 33.553 931 32.622
barren 42.559 1.611 40.948
sheep
Goats 107.466 1.469 105.997 117.447 1.878 115.569
Poultry 1.840.173 446.630 1.393.543 1.828.287 465.490 1.362.797
Source: State Statistical Office
The value of livestock production in 2018, participates with 20.9% in the total production of
agricultural "business branch" and the same decreased by 1.1% compared to 2017. In the table
below, the production accounts for livestock and livestock products for the period 2017-2018
are presented.
Current accounts / Product account in millions of denars / at current prices
Description 2017 2018
1 Livestock 8.406 8.485
Cattle 3.296 3.522
Pigs 3.101 2.977
Horses 4 2
Sheep and goats 1.361 1.343
Poultry 644 640
2 Livestock Products 10.785 10.498
Milk 9.617 9.433
Eggs 1.000 884
Other livestock products 168 180
Raw wool 49 35
Other livestock products: other 119 145

3 Livestock production (1+2) 19.192 18.983

Source: State Statistical Office
Most cattle are bred by traditional farmers (1-3 cows) and family farms (5-20 cows), which due
to the inadequate breeding and farming methods are low and moderately productive (2-3
thousand liters / cow, ie 4- 5 thousand liters / cow). Specialized farms (more than 20 cows) are
highly productive (over 5 thousand liters / cow), but unfortunately their number is very small -
only 3% of the total number of farms. The most common breeds of cattle are dairy, but also
combined breeds for milk and meat: Holstein-Friesian breed, bush, Simental breed, Montafoni
breed and Oriental breed.
Sheep breeding is mostly represented in small individual and family farms (20 to 200 sheep)
which are mostly oriented towards milk production, and less often with over 300 head of
sheep, which are with combined production direction (milk, meat and wool). About 97% of
sheep are bred by individual farms, of the breeds: a “ oplemeneta prameka", represented by
"ovchepole breed" and "sharplanina breed", "virtemberg" and "avasi". In addition to lamb, milk
and sheep's milk products have good export potential.
As a result of increased demand for goat's milk, the number of goats has increased in recent
years, although the goat's milk market is still poorly developed due to low milk prices. Goats are
most common in individual farms - about 98%. The "Balkan Goat" is the most present in our
area, but of course the "Sanska" and the "Alpine" breeds are also present.
The number of pigs in 2018 decreased by 3.3% compared to 2017, which 97.4% are grown in
individual farms.
The largest number of poultry are laying hens, of which 74.5% are raised in individual
agricultural holdings and the remaining 25.5% in business entities. The number of poultry in
2018 decreased slightly compared to 2017 (0.6%).

Fisheries
In Macedonia, fishing areas cover about 56,000 hectares, of which 83% are natural lakes (Ohrid,
Prespa and Dojran), 11% are artificial lakes, 4% are rivers and 1% are fish ponds. Fisheries have
a very small share of GDP (only 0.1%) and employment in the fisheries sector is also low. Total
open-water fishing is steadily declining, while production of artificial fish ponds is increasing. 2
Fish production in Macedonia stems from industrial fishing and aquaculture production. Of
course, recreational fishing is represented in our area by individuals and associations.
Aquaculture production is carried out by fish breeders in fish farms, registered in the Register of
Fish Breeders, which by the end of 2017 count 107 breeders
In aquaculture production, the most important is the production of trout and carp. In addition
to these species, catfish, amur and tolstolobik are also produced in the fishing facilities. In
addition to trout and carp, the most important industrial species are eel, catfish, red-bellied,
white-tailed, ostrich and others. In addition to aquaculture production and commercial fishing,
it is estimated that recreational fishing annually produces about 120 to 140 tons of all types of
fish.3
Industrial fishing and aquaculture produce certain types of fish, of which the most common
species for the period 2015-2017 are the following species:
2015 2016 2017
Type of fish
Total / Kg. Total / Kg. Total / Kg.
Trout 822.205 1.142.840 1.128.413

Carp 381.400 513.819 588.887

2
Analysis of the agriculture, fisheries and veterinary sector, 2017 - Min. For education and science of the
Republic of Macedonia
3
Annual Agricultural Report 2017 - Min. For agriculture, forestry and water management
 Catfish 521 3.207 4.747

Eel 724 905 914

Others 106.005 130.953 85.946

Total 1.310.855 1.791.724 1.808.907

Source: Annual Agricultural Report 2017

Fish stocking of fishing waters is performed by registered entities in a special register of
MAFWE, in which by 2017 5 entities were registered. Meanwhile, by the end of 2017, 35
entities have been registered for stocking fishponds.
The fish produced in our country are sold fresh and unprocessed and are mostly intended for
the domestic market. As Macedonia does not go to sea, it is dependent on imports of sea fish
and seafood.