Miletic: Problem with economy structural in nature

ARANDJELOVAC - The problem with the Serbian economy is mostly structural in nature as the manufacturing sector's share in the gross domestic product has been reduced, which resulted in a drop in the number of workers, Acting Director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Milivoje Miletic said on Friday, noting that the economy is also being plagued by poor productivity and competitiveness.

Changes in the Serbian economy happened in a chaotic way because they were not administered in an adequate way, Miletic said at the Regional Investment Summit in Arandjelovac, organized by the Belgrade-based daily NIN with Tanjug News Agency as the media partner.

The manufacturing sector should hire more people, as today 250,000 people work in the manufacturing sector, while in 1989 the number stood at around 1.25 million, he said.

"Serbia should educate more IT professionals, as there is a need for four times more of them than we have now," Miletic said.

The structure of investments is also problematic, as three-quarters go to the non-tradable sector, and not production ones, he said.

"If we look at our gross domestic product and where our money is coming from: around two-thirds from the non-tradable sector. That is an unfavorable structure of the economy that has to change," Miletic said, pointing to the need for boosting exports, productivity and competitiveness.

Photo Tanjug/Z. Zestic

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