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ŠUMARSKI LIST 1-2/2023 str. 41     <-- 41 -->        PDF

Socio-economic characteristics of forestry companies in the Republic of Serbia
Socio-ekonomske karakteristike šumarskih poduzeća u Republici Srbiji
Milica Marčeta, Ljiljana Keča, Stjepan Posavec, Sreten Jelić
Summary
Considering that companies in the sector of forestry and the related sector of wood processing exist in a dynamic and changing economic environment, the ability of fast adaptability to the emerging changes is a prerequisite for efficient and effective business. In that sense, a wholesome review of internal factors, as well as the external ones, is important for creating business strategies and achieving a better market and competitive positioning. In order to provide insight into the socio-economic characteristics and the market environment in which they operate, 32 companies from the field of forestry and wood processing in the central Serbia have been analysed. The goal of this research was to gain insight into the opinions and attitudes of the respondents from companies towards particular aspects of the market. The purpose of this research was to acknowledge and understand the market environment in which the analysed companies operate, and to define the recommendations for future management. The object of this research were companies in the field of forestry and wood processing, the opinions and reviews on raw material purchase, product placement, attitudes towards purchase procedures and so on.
Key words: forestry, companies, socio-economic characteristics, SWOT, A’WOT
INTRODUCTION
UVOD
Despite the increasing importance of the ecological functions of forests, wood remains the primary forest product (Danilović, Gačić, 2014). The use of wood and non-wood forest products for commercial and non-commercial purposes has a long tradition in Serbia (Keča et al., 2015), although it accounts for only 0.2% of Serbia’s GDP. Wood processing accounts for 0.3%, furniture industry for 0.4% and paper and cellulose industry for 0.5% of Serbia’s GDP (2017). Apart from furniture, sawn timber represents the most important timber product of wood processing industry (Tillman, 2013; Wieruszewski et al., 2017).
In line with the transition processes, particular economic and political reforms have had impact on the forestry sector as well. One of the changes is reflected in the development of small and medium companies (Ranković et al., 2011). It is estimated that sawmills account for 63% of the total number of wood processing companies in Serbia (PKS, 2017). Based on data from 2020, 3,734 companies based on forest resources have been operating in Serbia, employing 52,041 workers (RAS, 2020, Nedeljković et al., 2021).
The total area of forests in Serbia is 2,252,400 ha, which is 29.1% of the total area of the territory of Serbia (the data does not include the territory of Kosovo and Metohija) (Banković et al., 2009). The contribution of the wood