CHALLENGES FOR THE VEGETABLE SUBSECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The Republic of Macedonia has approximately 260 ha of agricultural cultivable area under glasshouses, but the exploitation of the facilities ranges between 75-80%, of their total capacity, leaving around 20-25 % of the facilities not being used. The area cultivated under plastic tunnels is not precisely known, but it is estimated between 4000 and 6000 ha dedicated for cultivation of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and cabbage. The open field production is gradually decreasing especially for production of tomatoes, cucumber and peppers due to lower productivity and increased problems with diseases. For other vegetables (melons, potatoes and onions) open production and strong seasonal aspects are dominating. The ex-Yugoslavia, considered as one market, traditionally has been and is still the largest consumer of the Macedonian fresh product. The position of Macedonian vegetable exporters in these markets is under threat for several reasons: market requirements shifting towards EU standards, related to the arrival of modern retail operations. The large producers are using local or international help which is very costly. There are no available financial instruments that stimulate the farmers to invest in new technologies and production, and the limited profits, mainly that the primary producers are making. High cost of input (energy) for production (energy is app.70% of the cost of the product) and the weak organization and cooperation of the stakeholders (vertical cooperation, horizontal cooperation and small sized production) are also significant challenges that should be dealt with in future. However, the biggest problem that causes weakness in this subsector is the limited Governmental and local investment in research. Due to that, there are no local producers of quality seeding material that causes higher cost of inputs and uncertainness of the quality of materials