Economics and Agribusiness in the Balkans
The Balkans peninsula is a region located in southeastern Europe, which serves as a land bridge between the Middle East, the Black Sea area, and Central Europe. Torn in between the East and the West, the Balkans region was dominated by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia throughout the 20th century, until the country ceased to exist in 1992. Since then, its territory has splintered into numerous multiethnic and unstable political entities, in a process that today is known as Balkanization. Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia currently occupy the former territory of Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, only two of these countries, Croatia and Slovenia, have been admitted to the European Union. Even though the regional layout has changed, the Balkans remain a strategic region of Europe, where proxy wars are waged between Russia and NATO. Similarly, the Balkans are the main transit zone for irregular migrants seeking to enter the European Union from Africa and Asia. This article explores the economics of Kosovo, which is the most recent splinter country from former Yugoslavia.
Economics and Agribusiness in the Balkans
The Republic of Kosovo is the most recent country to have obtained its national independence in continental Europe, separating from Serbia in 2008 after more than a decade of violent struggle. Currently, Kosovo is a small landlocked country in the Balkans region with a total territory of almost 10.900 square kilometers, which is somewhat larger than Delaware. The country is mainly dominated by a high-level basin within the Balkans mountain range, which means that all of the country is hundreds of meters above sea level. Even before Kosovo’s independence, its population of more than 90% ethnic Albanians as well as the government of the neighboring Republic of Albania had been calling for the creation of a unified greater Albanian state. However, this unification is yet to occur.
Today, Kosovo has a total population of approximately 1.9 million citizens and its capital city of Pristina has more than 210.000 inhabitants. Furthermore, Kosovo’s population is predominantly young, with a median age of 29 years, and suffers from an average youth unemployment of 58%. The annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the country is about US$18 billion (PPP) and it has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 1.0% in recent years. The national economy is divided into 13% agriculture, 23% manufacturing, and 64% services. Likewise, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 6% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 17% and services employ another 77%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes 53% of the national territory, while another 42% is forested. In terms of natural resources, Kosovo has nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome, and bauxite. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on mineral mining, construction materials, base metals, leather, machinery, appliances, foodstuffs, beverages, and textiles. Simultaneously, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products wheat, corn, berries, potatoes, peppers, fruit, dairy, livestock, and fish. In terms of trade, Kosovo’s main partners are Germany, Macedonia, Italy, Turkey, China, and Albania.