INFLUENCE OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS TO THE PRODUCTION PRICE OF WINE GRAPES IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The grape production together with the wine industry contributes about 20% of the total agricultural GDP in the Republic of North Macedonia and occupation of around 30,000 rural households. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and the instability of the world situation, the prices of raw materials in agricultural production are constantly increasing. Hence, the main goal of this paper is to assess the impact of the global economic crisis on the production price of wine grape varieties. The main approach of the comparative analysis for the production prices between the reference years 2020 & 2021 and estimated 2022 is based on established normative calculations of grapes within the Institute of Agriculture. The total costs are calculated based on variable and fixed costs of grape production. The investment and inputs costs are collected by commercial companies, suppliers of raw materials and farmers. The findings demonstrate that the average production price of grapes at total costs for 2020 & 2021 accounts in average 0.30 EUR/kg. The results from the estimations of the production price of grapes for 2022 show increase by 20%, which implies that the economic crisis has a large impact on the viticulture and wine industry. It is anticipated that the socio-economic situation of grape producers will be negatively affected. Therefore, the public policies for development of this important sector for the Macedonian agriculture should correspond to the new situation.