Abstract

 

Foreign trade in agri-food products holds significant importance for both North Macedonia and the entity of the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina), given the substantial role this sector plays in their overall trade exchange. As formal trade partners under the Central European Free Trade Agreement, understanding their trade dynamics is important. This paper aims to analyze the foreign trade exchange of agri-food products between the Republic of Srpska and North Macedonia in the 2013-2022 period. It first outlines export and import trends of the Republic of Srpska and North Macedonia in agri-food products, and then delves into the analysis of their export competitiveness. Descriptive analysis measures were employed to analyze the trade exchange involving agri-food products. The research determined the export competitiveness levels based on the trade competitiveness index for total foreign trade exchange, as well as for the agri-food sectors and its main product groups in both the Republic of Srpska and North Macedonia. The research results have shown almost an equal average share of 10.91% in exports and 10.93% in imports of agri-food sector of North Macedonia, while the Republic of Srpska recorded an average share of 17.41% in agri-food imports, and 8.13% in exports. Regarding export competitiveness, the agri-food sector of North Macedonia had characteristics of "poor export competitiveness", while the Republic of Srpska recorded "very poor export competitiveness" in the analyzed period. The calculated values of the trade competitiveness index for the main product groups of the agri-food sector of the Republic of Srpska have shown different levels of export competitiveness, from "no export competitiveness" to "strongest export competitiveness" compared with North Macedonia. However, North Macedonia and the Republic of Srpska exhibit room for improvement in enhancing export competitiveness to capitalize on market opportunities.  

 

Key words: agri-food sector, foreign trade exchange, trade competitiveness, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia