In the beginning of August, ProFound consultants Gustavo Ferro and Bert-Jan Ottens embarked on a mission to Pristina, Kosovo, to initiate an assessment of the Kosovar market for processed fruits and vegetables. This assessment falls within the framework of Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE), a programme financed by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). The programme is implemented by a consortium of Swisscontact, Riinvest Insitute and PEM Consult.
Together with the Riinvest Institute as a local partner, ProFound is conducting the market assessment at three different levels:
- Trade statistics: an assessment of Kosovo’s trade balance.
- Value chain dynamics: an analysis of the opportunities and threats stemming from the processed fruit and vegetable sector in Kosovo, derived from interviews with the most relevant stakeholders.
- Consumer profile: an analysis of Kosovar consumers’ quality perception for processed fruits and vegetables.
The main goal of this assessment is to identify the main prospects and bottlenecks in the Kosovar market for processed fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the opportunities for import substitution and exports. The assessment will be used as an input to design the necessary interventions for this sector, so as to improve the domestic industry, encourage exports and enhance employment creation. It is currently estimated that around 70% of Kosovo’s processed food products are sourced from foreign suppliers, mainly from neighbouring countries, while only 30% comes from local processors.