Pandemia hit Kosovo businesses, circulation drops 60%

While, 61 per cent of them have been working in the retail and retail sector, automobile repairs and motorcycles, production and accommodation activities and food services.

Also, nearly every fourth of companies have delayed wages or paid workers at any given time.

These are recorded in the research made by “TLB Alumni”

Economy expert Edison Jakurti says in an interview for Kosovo that studies “economic effects of COVID-19: A Private Sector Analysis in Kosovo” has calculated that 88 per cent of businesses say there has been a decline in circulation.

Former Minister of Trade and Industry Jakurti claims that on the basis of this research about 4 thousand and 300 businesses have been closed because of the pandemic and about 29,000 workers who have lost their jobs due to the Coddy-19 pandemic.

“Diku 88 per cent of private sector businesses claim that there has been a decline in circulation when compared to the same period last year... On the effects of operating somewhere only 1/3 of businesses say they operate at full capacity. Over 50 per cent of businesses say they operate at partial capacity due to the impact the pandemic has had. About 4 thousand and 300 businesses are closed because of the pandemic and we have about 29 thousand workers who lost their jobs because of the David-19 pandemic. Businesses state that some 21,000 workers have been temporarily evacuated, while the rest have been permanently”, says Jakurti.

Experts Yaakuti also claims that there is a huge number of businesses that say there have been a decline in circulation of over 60 per cent, while about 1/3 of businesses say their sales have been completely cancelled.

“The effects of pandemic and one of the characteristics of this economic crisis has been that it was a blow to both bid and demand. This has made the situation complicated. We've seen that, in large measure, the share of demand has been very pronounced, hit by business sales. Somewhere 1/3 of businesses say their sales are completely canceled. So, planning that was for sale. Exactly with per cent of the circulation we've had limits on numbers, a 0-20 per cent drop, 21-40 per cent and so on. It's a very large number of businesses that say there have been a decline in circulation over 60 per cent if compared to the same period last year, with the March-November 2019” period, he points out.

According to Yakurte from the total of 21 sectors, four sectors are mostly hit, including the production sector.

We can generally observe three four sectors that are more hit because of the fact that there are more business numbers and there are more employees before pandemic by March 2020. Largely large is the trade in abundance and the minority that has been hit is the gastronomy, accommodation sector, and food services that have also been hit. A sector that has been a little bit more surprising that has been hit, given that the government's decisions on closing sectors have been made, this sector has been allowed a little longer to work, has been the production sector, but it turns out that even the production sector has been one of the sectors that's hit a lot”, Jacurti says.

Yaakut also told about the pre-recognitional situation of businesses before the pandemic, which says it has not been very good, and in Kosovo 89 percent of businesses are small that he says is quite a problem to deal with a situation like pandemic.

As it adds 76 per cent of businesses say they haven't taken any measures, which for Yakutt is a concern about how they had no restructuring of loans and prices.

“Mbi 3y4 of businesses that actually waited for the crisis without any response to it. Which I consider the wait has been that the state and government have to intervene. When asked about expectations by the Government in October-November, a large measure has said they do not expect assistance from the government, and then this calms us into a very desperate economic situation if the companies themselves do not take measures and if they do not expect from the government, then expectations for the future, although these do not say they are very pessimistic, expectations for the future do not appear to be very good neither, he states.

One of the sectors that rose, Jakurti says it has been the export of goods to foreign countries.

Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Kosovo's private sector-focused economy is the result of analysis of a database built by the interview of 1,378 businesses, from 20 economic sectors to 7 Kosovo regions. It includes pre - pandemic information, the influence of pandemic, and expectations for the future. The study is supported by the GIZ's YES programme.