The president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), Marko Cadez, said that there is a possibility of one of the two largest automotive companies in the world opening a factory in Serbia considering that the government is currently negotiating with them.
“This would be very good news even in happier and more carefree times, let alone under these circumstances,” Cadez said in an interview with 24sedam, stressing that analysts and business people are increasingly worried that the global consequences of the Ukrainian crisis will be much bigger, far-reaching and more complex than the consequences of the pandemic.
“Business community is concerned not only about difficult access to Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian markets and the need to find alternative markets for product placement and sourcing of imported raw materials from that region in a short period of time, but also about disruptions in global supply chains causing imbalances between supply and demand, record global inflation rates, rising costs of production and trade,” he added.
As for the European automotive industry, particularly the German one which is the strongest and which our domestic suppliers cooperate with, Cadez said that companies operating in Serbia have not reported any major difficulties in the last month and a half, except for those faced by the whole economy and especially the metal-processing sector. “Automotive component manufacturers currently have some raw materials in stock and production is generally progressing without problems, although there is some reduction in old orders. Some companies operating in Serbia are quite optimistic because they expect additional work on new projects after the closure of factories in Ukraine, Russia and other suspensions in Europe,” he explained.
Stating that the European Union was and remains the most important economic partner for Serbia, Cadez underlined that the continuation of negative trends in the European economy due to the Ukrainian crisis would affect the Serbian economy and it would be difficult to achieve the expected growth rates. “According to preliminary March trade data, the Serbian economy is so far holding up well, despite all the problems brought by the Ukrainian crisis,” Cadez concluded.
(Novi Magazin, 25.04.2022)
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