The state and opportunities of Western Balkans agriculture

Western Balkan countries include (arranged alphabetically) Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. These countries have a shared goal, which is the quickest possible accession to the European Union. This study gives a comprehensive overview of the Western Balkan's agriculture by offering basic indicators, trade analysis and the determinig factors behind the different agricultural performances. The role of agriculture differs widely among the analysed countries but is more important than the average of the EU. The study tries to answer to the following questions. What is the actual state of agriculture in these countries? Have agricultural productivity and competitiveness improved? How does their performance compared to the averages of the European Union? Could these countries reach positive trade balance? What are the major challenges and policy lessons?

Autorentext

Tamas Mizik is assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development at Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. He holds a PhD in economics. His main fields of interest are agricultural policies, bioenergy, competitiveness and rural development.