МЕТОД ЗА АНАЛИЗА НА МЕЃУНАРОДНАТА ТРГОВСКА СОСТОЈБА

For small economies, as in the case of the Republic of Macedonia, international trade presents a very important element in balancing the national supply and demand. International trade, at the same time, is a major component of the globalization process, where countries should make efforts to reduce barriers to trade and make their economies more open to foreign competition. The aim of this article is to test if the OECD’s method can be applied for analyses of the international trade of the Republic of Macedonia as well. This article is focused on the trade of apples, where countries are compared by using statistical indicators to depict their position in the international economic integration. The results show that the trade balance of apples in Macedonia has a high positive value, confirming that the export of apples significantly exceeds the import. It is obvious that the country is net exporter. The results also reveal that Macedonian apple producers are primarily export oriented.The main conclusion is that this method is applicable for analysis of trade in the Republic of Macedonia, but if the indicators are compared between different countries, the results should be interpreted cautiously since data are based on different databases

MACEDONIAN AGRICULTURAL CAPITAL MARKET AND SUPPORTING MECHANISMS: AN OVERVIEW

The Macedonian agricultural capital market is not efficient enough, although there have been some improvements due to the established supporting mechanisms. This paper aims to identify current gaps between agricultural financial services’ and mechanisms’ supply and demand on the agricultural capital market. In this regard, literature and other available secondary sources have been reviewed. Additionally, focused discussions with different stakeholders in the agricultural capital market were conducted, including representatives from the capital demand side (farmers and their associations), and supply side (banks, saving houses, and their associations), as well as supporting institutions and intermediaries (government institutions and donor projects that work towards improvement of farmers’ access to finance in the country). Crediting is one of the key drivers of agricultural and rural development. There are other external financial sources that should be considered, which could contribute in improved capital flow to the agricultural sector. The results revealed critical segments in the agricultural capital market based on the mismatches between the supply and demand for capital and supporting mechanisms, and suggest directions for further improvements of this market. The findings may serve as a baseline for future policy settings and enhancement of a more efficient development of the agricultural capital market in the country

Does the agricultural policy foster agricultural development? Evidences on corrections of the rural capital market imperfections in the Republic of Macedonia

In transition economies, capital structure decisions are not driven from the market, but on farmers’ expectations to receive financial support from the government. These observations raise the necessity for empirical evidences for RM on whether agricultural support programs, affecting capital structure decisions and other specific farm structural characteristics, foster improvements in farm performance. The results support that agricultural companies worry less about their capital structure hindering investments and thus, restructuring of the agriculture

CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES – EVIDENCES FROM THE MACEDONIAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN TRANSITION

Asymmetries between the emerging capital and credit market in the Republic of Macedonia in addition to the restructure of the agricultural sector limit the agricultural companies’ financial decisions and their possibilities to profit. Considering capital market imperfections typically for transition economies this paper attempts to identify empirical evidences for structural determinants on Macedonian agricultural companies’ financial performance and to explain the financial strategy of these companies to earn profit. The relationship between the ratio on assets return is used to measure financial performance and structural determinants of capital, earnings and financial business. The relationship is econometrically tested by the specification of a fixed-effect model. Following previous studies relaying on the pecking-order theory and the trade-off theory, the analysis applies on a dynamic panel data consisting of 26 Macedonian agricultural companies originating from the former agrokombinates, during the period 2006-2010. The agricultural companies’ capital structure determinant is tested by the specification of two different models: the first model uses debt-to-equity ratio as a capital structure indicator and the second one uses the debt ratio. Results suggest that Macedonian agricultural companies in the short run are limited by pricing flexibility undertaking different strategies to increase profitability. More efficient strategies are undertaken by growing agricultural companies operating on their fixed assets. However these agricultural companies are confronting with inefficiencies in the use of working capital reducing the ability to supply at an increase market demand. Statistical evidences do not support the hypothesis of that high-levered agricultural companies in Macedonia have higher opportunities to profit. Probably due to asymmetries between the national capital and credit markets and agricultural companies, increasing risk exposure. Hence, Macedonian agricultural companies prefer more assets than debt, considering financial risk in the long run decisions. This strategy seems to be a good financial strategy for growing agricultural companies with the ability to generate sufficient liquidity to meet exogenous market conditions

The commitments of the Macedonian agri-food companies towards intellectual property rights

We aim to give an overview of the different levels of commitment towards Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) among agri-food companies in the Republic of Macedonia so to emphasize its basic role in creating competitive market position. The low-level IPR committed companies were analyzed by specifying a fixed-effects model, and for the high-level IPR committed companies we used a single case study with a distinctive IP experience in permanently implementing innovation and marketing strategies. The results emphasize the importance of the companies’ IPR strategies for strengthening their market position. In fact, brand equity is created only through constant marketing investments