If we had to describe the business year 2023, we could freely say that we are at the end of another year full of challenges and upheavals from the environment on the domestic economy. Due to high inflation and in anticipation of recessionary elements, all business entities in the RS, regardless of the sector in which they work, felt a great deal of uncertainty and fear when planning any growth and development, said Goran Račić, president of the Banja Luka Regional Chamber of Commerce, for The Srpska Times.
On the other hand, we must not be unfair and not mention some good things that we have witnessed, namely the growth of budget allocations for the economy, a large number of regional and international business meetings in our country and in neighbouring countries, the interest of businessmen in issues of renewable energy sources and sustainable business , growth in the number of digitization projects and investments in technological development.
What were the biggest challenges in business in 2003?
Part of the countries of the euro zone are in recession, which Germany, as the most economically developed country of the EU, has dragged them into. We know that the economy of BiH, as well as the RS, is highly dependent on partners from Germany. The first consequences of the recession were felt by our wood processors in the form of a drop in demand for furniture, but also by our mechanical, electrical and metal industries, as they rely on European car manufacturers. At the same time, the price of capital also increased. The interest paid by our companies grew in 2023. However, there are investments. The prices of goods bought by our population are rising, but citizens are still spending. This gives us hope that domestic consumption will partially mitigate the recession spill-over from Europe.
We have to mention a burning issue here, both for ours and for the economy in the whole of Europe, which is the decline in the quality and volume of the workforce. Looking locally, the cause of the problem is migration and a mismatched education system. However, our employers and managers are also faced with generational changes in employees. All these factors will require great efforts and a lot of learning from our companies in the next few years in the formation and retention of adequate human resources.
Are there opportunities that our companies can take advantage of, or is it necessary to focus on adapting to avoid shocks from the environment for the year 2024?
Although the aforementioned recession in Germany is already in its fifth quarter, this decline is not catastrophic and we can expect that the year 2024 will bring improvement. Although, probably towards the end of the year. What we can do is to continue increasing allocations from the Srpska budget for supporting the economy. Incentives of 180 million marks for agriculture had a significant impact on domestic food production. However, only 14 million for the industry is still insufficient by any criteria. If we want our companies to strengthen their competitiveness and retain jobs, it is crucial to encourage them to digitize, improve working conditions, raise product quality, internationalize and generally introduce the principles of sustainable business. And we can do this most quickly and efficiently through direct grants and information training programmes and cooperation with the academic community. In addition, a strategic systemic approach to the development of the labour market in Srpska is key. In addition to the problem with the outflow of labour force, it is necessary to work more intensively on adapting the education system.
What are the key activities of the Chamber in the upcoming year?
We continue our fight to reduce the burden on the economy, above all the burden on work, the reduction of parafiscal levies and the restructuring of public enterprises. The Chamber will use most of its capacities in the next year to lobby for the implementation of these measures. In addition, in accordance with the demands of businessmen and the goals of the Chamber, this year we are also planning a series of actions aimed at improving the knowledge and information of our economy, especially in the field of digitization, the use of artificial intelligence in business, new technological solutions, new regulations, management, finance and other topics.
Our project team will involve companies and the Chamber in regional projects. This year we will focus on the green agenda, renewable energy sources, socially responsible business and regional cooperation.
We invite all members of the Chamber to use our resources and new premises to their full capacity. The new building of the Banja Luka Regional Chamber of Commerce, at 6 Branka Ćopića Street, is the home of all business entities, members of the Chamber in the true sense of the word. Conference halls can accommodate over 400 people, but can also be adapted for trainings, conferences, promotions, meetings and even fairs.
The Srpska Times
