The growth in industrial output and the positive trade and exports data are the first signs of economic recovery which will make possible achieving the projected economic growth this year, deputy PM and finance minister Zoran Stavreski said, according to a release on the website of the ministry. Industrial production has been increasing during the three-month period Feb-Apr despite the fact that the latest developments in Europe are not so positive. Therefore Stavreski expects growth in Macedonia to continue in the second half of this year, when the European economy is expected to improve.
The finance minister confirmed government plans to implement active measures that will support the Balkan country’s economic growth. These measures will include additional low-cost debt funding for SMEs and capital investments.
The country’s ministry of finance and central bank project real GDP growth of 2% and 2.2% this year, respectively. These figures compare with 1.5% expected by the European Commission and the EBRD, as well as 2% projected by the IMF. Macedonia’s 2012 GDP contracted by 0.3% in real terms.
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