Lending to the Manufacturing and Agriculture Sector is growing in Kosovo

The Kosovo Banking Association in a press release announced that lending for the first six months of 2019 to the Kosovo Manufacturing and Agriculture sector has marked a significant increase compared to the first six months of 2018. Compared to Q2 of the previous year, lending to the manufacturing sector in Kosovo increased by 20%, while the agricultural sector increased by 15.4%. According to statistics published by the Central Bank of Kosovo, lending to the manufacturing sector for the first six months of 2019 was € 242.30 million while for the Agriculture sector it was € 74.00 million.

“Increasing demand for loans by the manufacturing and agricultural sector in Kosovo represents a new momentum not only in the banking sector in Kosovo but also for the economic development of the country itself, as banks' willingness to lend to low-interest businesses with favorable preferential terms opens new opportunities for job creation and opens new avenues for export ”, said the Chief Executive Officer of the Kosovo Banking Association, Mr. Petrit Balija. In addition to increasing lending to the Manufacturing and Agriculture sector, Mr. Balija said that the banking sector in Kosovo is making continuous efforts to support other economic sectors through lending, in order to create favorable conditions for all industries in the country.

Further, Mr. Balija emphasized that the increase of lending to the production and agriculture sector in Kosovo reflects the willingness and interest of businesses to invest and expand business within Kosovo, which positively affects the improvement of Kosovo's trade balance and supports a stable economic growth rate.