The Serbian economy, which has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, will need an average of a year to recover, according to the results of the “Together through Crisis” survey conducted by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC).
The crisis has hit micro-enterprises the hardest, while liquidity remains one of the key problems facing firms, the PKS said in a statement.
In the third cycle of research conducted from June 8 to 15 with the USAID Economic Development Cooperation Project, most respondents estimate the recovery time at one year, almost every third company believes that three to six months will be enough, while the most affected sectors – tourism , transport and the creative industry expect a recovery of more than a year.
About 73 percent of companies fear a second wave of pandemics and re-closures, followed by declining demand for products and services, while 40 percent expect restrictions related to declining business liquidity, declining funding sources, and changes in export and import policies.
Nearly a third of companies expect barriers related to the restriction of gatherings and new requirements regarding the quality standards of products and services, the results of the survey showed.
More than 90 percent of companies expect a drop in revenues this year, the biggest losses will be in tourism, creative industry and transport, followed by the industry of various manufacturing activities and the IT sector.
A quarter of the survey participants estimate that their revenues in June 2020, compared to the same month last year, were halved at best, and every other company had a loss of up to 30 percent, Beta reports.
