Adelina Muharremi: Our Company deals with central
heating, installing, projecting, and the development of projects. We also deal
with air conditioning and sewage- also we supply the parts for those.
Adelina Muharremi- the
marketing manager of “Proterm” company speaking about the items her company is
exhibiting at this year’s EXPOCOS fair – held in Pristina.
Hello and welcome to UNMIK on air
Kosovo’s economy may not yet be thriving, but a trade fair
attracting 90 companies from Kosovo and abroad can only be a good sign.
Companies like “Teteks”, from Macedonia, which makes wool products.
Teteks: Teteks is not on the Kosovar Market for the first time –it is known on
this market, it has its image and quality. We have worked here in times of
Ex-Yugoslavia and we still have our buyers who buy things on a regular basis.
The fair, held in Pristina sports hall, is crowded with
stands and visitors of all ages who seem to be, mainly, interested in new
electronic products - especially those from the Slovenian company “Gorenje”.
And although the Kosovan market is not very big, and the normal Kosovan wage is
lower than the price of most products on Gorenje stand, the company is quite
certain that there is a market in Kosovo:
Gorenje: I think that there is market for Gorenje, I think we
are number one in comparison with other companies who are our competition.
Of course, not all stands
are dedicated to appliances. Suhareka wine company has taken care of people who
do not spend their evenings in front of TV sets. Their stand had 11 different
types of wine, a “Therranda” Cognac and, the traditional Grape Raki. Liman
Gashi, the commercial director of Suhareka, told us that although the sales of
spirits are going well his factory has started facing difficulties:
Liman Gashi: This year there is more
interest in our products on the Kosovar market. But, since March, we have
problems since the CFA has started applying an excise on our products. So we
have to raise prices. And the Kosovar market is too small for our products
since our capacities are too big and we are not the only wine producers in
Kosovo- there is also “Rahoveci” – “Kosovavera” from Krusha and “Erneiku from
Gjakova.
And, amidst stands crowded
with food, electronic appliances, garden tools or bathroom appliances there is
a stand that looks a bit out of place-it is full of papers. It belongs to AGEf,
a non-profitable NGO which tries to help the people who came back from the west
to find work. Naim Fejzullahu, says
that his organisation has been quite successful, within the constraints of the
employment situation here:
Naim Fejzullahu: We have specific programs for
people who have returned from abroad the interest is much bigger than our
possibilities since one organisation cannot fulfill the needs since 2000, up to
now, we have around 12 thousand candidates – while, up to now , we managed to
mediate in employment of over 2000 people.
And, of course, no Kosovar
fair would be complete without at least one company selling solutions for
electricity problems. This time a British Company called Power Swid represented
in Prishtina by Nazmi Zenelaj:
Nazmi
Zenelaj: We deal in energy and energy problems and we are here because
there are those kinds of problems here. We deal in invertors, stabilizers
different types.
And, his company stand
seems to have attracted a good deal of interest from the visitors. Even if not
too many invertors did get sold:
CUT
8:
Q: But do people have money to buy these things?
A: Not really but there are some people who are interested
in quality.
Almost a hundred
companies from all over Kosovo and abroad and a broad choice of merchandise-
EXPOKOS 2003 , a trade fair being held in Pristina which will last until the
6th of April.
With this we close this edition of UNMIK on Air. Thank you
and stay tuned.