Paper and Pulp, Printing and Publishing Industries in the Republic of Macedonia has achieved a high level of development which is recognized in the opportunity for high quality production of all kinds of paper and printing products. Greater development is noticed currently in packaging production.
Production of paper, pulp and paper products share in the overall industrial production is 1,12 percent while in printing and publishing the share is 3,12 percent. Both processing sectors employ over 1380 workers which in the overall number of employees in the processing industry participate with 2,6 percent.
Production of paper, pulp and paper products in 2008 notes decreasing by 5,2 percent compared to the previous year (index 94,8), while in printing and publishing sector, compared to last year drop (index 88), in 2008 is noticed a growth of 59,4 percent.
Production indexes 2005=100
2005 2006 2007 2008
Processing Industry 100 103,6 105,2 106,3
Production of paper, pulp and paper products 100 122,8 101,1 94,8
Publishing activities, printing and recording
and reproduction of recorded media 100 108,4 87,8 159,4
Production is mostly directed to domestic market needs, the export of paper and paper products indicates a drop of 11,7 percent if compared to the previous year. But Macedonia is further import dependent, in the raw materials segment, the import of pulp and paper waste after several years` growth, shows decreasing, increased import by 25 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year is noticed in paper and paper products.
Regarding the economic entities structure, the printing sector is composed of above 90 percent of small companies, and only 10 percent are medium sized companies, which indicate to their flexibility and adjustability to the market changes.
In the last few years there is increasing interest of foreign companies for investment in the paper industry (as the case of Komuna –Skopje with above 50 percent of the capital of Belische Group) as well in printing sector, for speeding up of modernization of these processing sectors.
Several years dynamic development in this sector creates a favorable ambient for investment in production of printing paper, which is still not produced in the Republic of Macedonia.
Opportunity for investment aimed at increasing of export exists in printing sector in the segment of modernizing and introduction of new technologies.
