The food and beverages sector is marking a considerable progress in development and is expanding in the local market as well as it is penetrating the EU market.

A good progress in the food sector is shown in the food processing industry (ranging from production of raw material to final products), it is worth mentioning the products from processing of fruits and vegetables, juices from these fruits, confectionary, pasteurization and frozen vegetables. All these products have found placement in the local market and are significantly affecting replacement of imports and GDP growth.

Regarding active businesses, data from TAK show that in 2013, 816 companies have been active in this sector (Figure 2), out of which 500+ (61%) have operated under sub-sector of bread production, fresh pastries and cakes. Companies that deal with the processing of grains and wheat occupy 20.1% of the market, while the processing of fruits and vegetables constitutes 15.4% of the market. Companies which are active in the processing of dairy products, ice cream and chocolate account for nearly 6% of the market, while others are involved in other sub-sectors.

Figure 1: Classification of businesses by main activities

Sector of food processing and packaging mainly consists of micro enterprises with less than 9 employees (65%), followed by small companies (employing between 10 and 49 employees) (24%), while 10% are medium-sized companies (which have from 50 to 259 employees).

Figure 2: Classification of businesses by size