The Serbian economy expects continued good performance in the first quarter of this year when it comes to turnover, there is moderate optimism regarding export trends, and the fact that 80 percent of surveyed companies have sufficient funds for optimal business financing, shows the latest survey of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS).
According to the survey on the business activity of economic entities in the 4th quarter of 2023 and expectations for the 1st quarter of 2024, the majority of businessmen in Serbia, who planned investments this year, want to increase or maintain the same volume of investments, and 94 percent of respondents do not expect a decrease number of employees in the first quarter, the results of the PKS survey conducted on a sample of 1,586 economic entities that employ more than 230,000 workers.
When it comes to turnover, the majority of respondents expect a continuation of good performance in the first quarter of 2024. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed expect increased or unchanged traffic, while 36 percent expect a decrease in traffic. Respondents from utilities and the metal industry stand out for their optimism – 30 percent and 29 percent of the respondents expect turnover growth in the next quarter. Respondents from trade and tourism expect the biggest challenges – 46 percent and 42 percent of respondents predict a drop in turnover in the first quarter of this year.
The fact that input costs have increased for 53 percent of respondents compared to the third quarter of 2023 is worrying. A fifth of those surveyed increased the prices of finished products, that is, services, compared to the previous quarter, while 75 percent of those surveyed kept these prices unchanged.
Businessmen show moderate optimism for the first quarter of this year in terms of export trends (26 percent expect a quarter-on-quarter export growth of 24 percent on average, while 53 percent expect an unchanged export level). For the first quarter of this year, 80 percent of the surveyed importers expect the same or increased volume of imports compared to the previous quarter.
Businessmen’s expectations for 2024 are positive when it comes to investment. Of the 56 percent of respondents who plan investments this year, 88 percent plan an increased or the same volume of investments compared to 2023.
According to the data from the financial reports for 2022, the companies in the sample achieved 23.9 billion euros in business income, and according to the data of the Customs Administration, in the fourth quarter of 2023, they reached the export of goods worth 10.3 billion euros, which is 50 percent more compared to the same period in 2022. About 18 percent of the companies in the sample have foreign founding capital.
