10 pages of Dutch-Macedonian business news, with articles on a.o. organic food, tea and herbs producers, world private label fair and a zinc/lead mine

1. newsletter
JUNE 2013
c/o Netherlands Embassy
Leninova 69-71
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
e: info@nlchamber.org.mk
w: www.nlchamber.org.mk
fb.com/nlchamber
twitter.com/nlchamber
linkedin.com/../nl-chamber
youtube.com/user/nlchamber
NL Chamber was established
in January 2012 as official
­
Dutch-Macedonian Chamber of
Commerce by 50 Macedonian
companies, according to the
Macedo­ ian Law on Chambers of
n
Commerce.
events
Stylish Queen’s Day Dinner
World Private Label fair Amsterdam
Junior Chamber International: exploring Macedonia
projects
Dairy Farming Macedonia: deploying Dutch knowledge
network
Modint: Focus on ready made and explore the market
members
Ambassador Schuurman explored Toranica mine
Steel Con builds factory in Stip for Dutch client
Vitalia health food at World Private Label fair Amsterdam
Konimex on business trip to the Netherlands
service
Customized business trip
statistics
Dutch Export EU
short
New flight times Eindhoven-Skopje
Agenda
One third of these companies is
partly or fully Dutch owned.
Objective of NL Chamber is to
promote and support successful
business relations between Dutch
and Macedonian companies.
Sponsors of
Foundation NL Chamber:
photo: NL Chamber
Dutch-Macedonian
Chamber of Commerce
2

2. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
events
Stylish Queen’s Day Dinner
On the Dutch national holiday Queen’s Day, NL Chamber organized a stylish dinner for
members at restaurant Den i Nokj in Skopje.
Maintaining close relations with
and amongst the members,
catching up with eachother
and exchanging ideas, require
regu­ gatherings. Therelar
fore NL Chamber gladly seized
the opportunity of the Dutch
n
­ ational holiday “Queen’s Day”
on 30 April for organizing a
stylish dinner in restaurant
Den i Nokj in Skopje, right after the official reception of the
Netherlands Embassy at the
same location.
The rich four-course dinner
of international meat and fish
dishes and dessert was highly appre­iated by the present
c
members.
matching wine
Skovin Winery had arranged
for wines matching the various
courses of the menu, whereas Pivara Skopje provided for
Heineken beer and softdrinks.
abdication
On 28 January, three days
for her 75th birthday,
Queen Beatrix announced
her abdication per 30 April,
with which Queen’s Day
2013 became the day of
succession. By law crown
prince
Willem-Alexander
became King of the Nether­
lands at the moment of
signing the declaration of
abdication. Later that day
the inauguration ceremony
took place.
King’s Day: 27 April
King Willem-Alexander decided to celebrate King’s
Day on his birthday, 27
April, wereas 30 April was
the birthday of his grandmother, late Queen Juliana.
Willem-Alexander (46) is
married to Queen Máxima
(42) and they have three
daughters: Princess Amalia
(9), Princess Alexia (8) and
Princess Ariane (6).
For more information, see:
www.koninklijkhuis.nl
photos: Rijksoverheid, NL Chamber
royal family
2

3. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
events
World Private Label fair Amsterdam
NL Chamber member Vitalia was exhibitor at the fair World Private Label in Amsterdam.
Members Konimex and Tinex went to the fair as visitors.
In autumn 2012 NL Chamber
visited new member Vitalia,
producer of health food pro­
ducts. CEO Nikola Vetadzo­
koski explained their long-term
experience with exhibiting at
World Private Label in Amsterdam and expressed the wish to
participate together with other
Macedonian companies in a
country pavilion in 2014.
beyond expectations
fair profile
location: Amsterdam RAI Exhibition Centre
surface: 87,000 sqm, 11 halls
dates:
Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29.05.2013
next year: Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21.05.2014
exhibitors: 21,000 from 70 countries
sections: only divided in food and non-food
most exhibitors participated in regional or country pavilions:
country
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Greece
Hungary
Latvia
Poland
Serbia
no. of exhibitors / organizer
53 / Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
43 / Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency
85 / Flanders Investment and Trade
11, including Agrokor / Croatian Chamber of Economy
39, including Kri Kri
23 / Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency
9 / Union of Latvian Fish Processing Industry
112 / Ministry of Agriculture; Region Eastern Poland
13 / Serbia Investment & Export Promotion Agency
Surprisingly, there were three
more Macedo­ian companies
n
exhibiting individually. With
enough ­
interest, NL Chamber
will ­nitiate a joint pavilion for
i
the 2014 edition of the fair.
Bulgaria was present with 16 exhibitors, but like the four exhibitors
from Macedonia, all participated individually.
Massively present countries were France (140 exhibitors), Germany (347), Italy (238) and Spain (129). China was present with 61
exhibitors in the non-food section and 10 in the food section. There
were 51 exhibitors from South Korea.
Several companies, like toilet paper producers Paloma from Slovenia, Harmony Slovakia and Hero, Remia and United Coffee from the
Netherlands had large individual stands.
Click for more information:
www.plmainternational.com
World Private Label
product groups
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
food
shelf stable, fresh, frozen
beverages
only a few exhibitors in
beer, wine and liquers
health & beauty products
pet products
household products
houseware, do-it-yourself
packaging & design
photo: NL Chamber
Serbian country pavilion clearly visible in the middle of the Europa hall.
Retail chain group Tinex always visits the fair with several
people from their purchasing
department. Konimex, grower
and processor of (organic) tea,
herbs and essential oils, decided to join NL Chamber to
evaluate the potential of this
fair. “World Private Label really
exceeded all my expectations.
For various companies that I
got to know before, I now even
had the chance to meet with
the top management at this
fair,” says Viktor Kolovski, CEO
of Konimex.
3

4. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
events
Junior Chamber International: exploring Macedonia
No less than 25 young entrepreneurs from Junior Chamber International (JCI) met with
the Netherlands Embassy and NL Chamber members on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Entrepreneurs of Junior Chamber International discussing bilateral business opportunities at the Embassy.
entrepreneurial spirit
always on the alert
Since it was just a weekend
trip, the nature of this visit
was leisure. But because JCI is
a network of young entrepreneurs, the delegation imme­
diately grabbed the chance
to learn about the business
potential of Macedonia. They
visi­ed the Embassy and met
t
with NL Chamber members:
an entrepreneurial spirit is always on the alert.
barrage of questions
Deputy Head of Mission Peter
Verheyen opened the Embassy
on Saturday afternoon for a
real barrage of questions on
bilateral business opportunities. Unlike their Macedonian
colleagues, Dutch entrepreneurs ask a lot of questions
during such meetings, which is
why Verheyen and NL Chamber director Bob Smit just provided a short introduction, allowing for an extensive series
of questions and answers that
lasted more than two hours.
NL Chamber members
Prior to this trip all NL Chamber members received a profile
of the participants with names,
companies and description of
their business. After the mee­
ting at the Embassy five NL
Chamber members in textiles,
printing and ICT met with the
delegation for a drink.
JCI Macedonia
Since Macedonia does not
yet have a local branch of
J
­unior Chamber International,
both JCI Twente and country
organization JCI Netherlands
­
e
­ xpressed inte­ est to help setr
ting up a first JCI branche in
Macedonia.
Junior Chamber International (JCI) is a non-profit organization
of 200,000 entrepreneurs under 40 years of age in 5,000 local
branches in over 100 countries. The Netherlands has 99 branches.
JCI members take up the responsibility as global citenzens to use
their entrepreneurial spirit and creative minds in local development
initiatives for a better society.
see:www.jci.cc
photo: NL Chamber
The local branch Twente of
Junior Chamber International
(JCI) took the initiative for a
short exploration mission to
Macedonia from 14-16 June.
Based on the experience with
working in Macedonia of one
of their members, Gerben
A
­ bbink, an impressive group of
25 members came to Skopje.
4

5. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
projects
Dairy Farming Macedonia: deploying Dutch knowledge
NL Chamber member BiMilk struggles with insufficient domestic raw milk supplies. For
Dutch companies and educational institutions in dairy industry as well as for Dutch dairy
farmers there are good opportunities in dairy farming development in Macedonia.
The dairy farming sector in
Macedonia is very fragmented:
there are many dairy farmers
with less than 10 cows which
makes any investment in quantity and quality improvements
unfeasible. On the other hand,
the larger dairy farms suffer
from insufficient feed production, inadequate cow health
management and old-fashio­
ned methods and equipment.
“Only to meet the domestic
demand, we are forced to import condensed milk, whereas
our raw milk payments ­
can
easily compete with the current Dutch prices,” says Zlatko
Najdovski, CEO of BiMilk.
Dutch knowledge
emigration Dutch farmers
For decades emigration has
been a common challenge for
Dutch farmers: in a ­ensely
d
Larger dairy farm in Macedonia. The well-known black-white Friesian
Holsteiner dairy cows are less suitable for Macedonian temperatures.
populated country as the
Nether­
lands lack of space is
hindering growth and also
leads to various restrictive
regulations. In the old days
Dutch farmers moved their
business to spacious countries
like Australia, Canada, the US
and South Africa. More recently, Dutch farmers started emigrating to Poland, Russia and
Romania. Najdovski: “A couple
of Dutch farmers with each up
to a hundred dairy cows on 80
hectares would mean a marvellous improvement to dairy
farming in Macedonia. Good
pieces of land are already
available for 5-7,000 EUR/ha.”
showcasing good practice
www.bimilk.mk
The Macedonian government
agrees with Najdovski: “The
Ministry of Agriculture is very
aware of the need to showcase
good practices through foreign
dairy farmers that set up a
business in Mace­ onia.”
d
training
Ambassador Schuurman personally facilitated the negotiations between BiMilk and PUM
Netherlands Senior Experts
for a training scheme for dairy
farmers. The Memorandom of
Understanding on this co-operation is expected to be signed
before autumn.
Through NL Chamber also the
dairy department of the University for professional education Van Hall Larenstein has
shown interest to develop a
training programme, possibly
in co-operation with the recently established Dutch Dairy
Campus in Leeuwarden.
photo: NL Chamber
Last autumn, BiMilk invested
in the purchase of 700 cows to
be placed with their suppliers
under favourable repayment
arrangements. In order to improve the operation of one of
their larger suppliers, BiMilk
also arranged for an internship
of two Dutch students of Van
Hall Larenstein in Leeuwarden
in March. See their findings in
the box on the next page.
5

6. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
findings Dutch students on dairy farming Macedonia
low quality plastic sheeting leads
to cracks...
bad housing leads to draught,
resulting in pneumonia...
not spreading manure over the
fields is like wasting fertilizer...
...and the upper layer of the
s
­ ilage gets rotten
...and sharp edges may cause
injuries...
...and overdue maintenance
leads to unusable equipment
remains of feed in the manure
show incomplete digestion
...while manure storage threa­
tens cow health and hygiene
in-calf cows waiting for delivery
network
Modint: Focus on ready made and explore the market
NL Chamber discussed the ­ pportunities for Macedonian garment producers on the
o
Dutch fashion market: the demand is moving more and more to ready made garments.
Modint is an association of
750 producers, importers,
agents and traders in garments, fashion accessories,
carpets and home textiles,
creating a total annual turn­
over of 9 billion EUR of which
50% is exported.
NL Chamber member Karma
Bella is also Modint member.
Modint has been supportive in
the market access activities
of the Dutch export coaching programme “Outerwear
Mace­ onia”, but would nord
mally charge some 12,000
EUR for a customized matchmaking event.
See: www.modint.nl
“The Dutch fashion industry
is still facing declines due to
the economic crisis. Moreover,
several brands decided to discontinue their CMT-operation,
so the market for Macedonian
producers is getting smaller,”
says Antonio Barberi, international trade consultant at
­Modint.
CMT or cut-make-trim is the
default way of working of Mace­
donian garment manufactu­
rers: they only arrange for the
labour intensive part of cutting
and sewing and eventually for
buying the trimmings, whereas the foreign client supplies
design, patterns, fabrics, labels and packaging materials.
future is ready made
Barberi urges the Macedonian
textile industry to focus their
development on producing
ready made garments (RMG).
“Who wants to sell on the
Dutch market should study the
Dutch market, for a start by
simply visiting the fashion fair
Modefabriek in Amsterdam,”
suggests Barberi.
photos: NL Chamber
about Modint
6

7. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
Sponsors of Foundation NL Chamber
www.pivaraskopje.com.mk
www.boekestijntransport.com
7

8. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
members
Ambassador Schuurman explored Toranica mine
NL Chamber member Indo Minerals and Metals operates two mines for lead and zinc ore
in Macedonia. Ambassador Schuurman explored the operations and environmental protection measu­ es at Toranica.
r
Ambassador Marriët Schuurman,
NL Chamber director Bob Smit
and plant manager Mehta at the
highest entrance of the mine
fine particles by crushing and
grinding. The result is a mixture of grains of minerals and
metals which is mixed with
water. Following the froth flotation process, chemicals are
added to the slurry to increase
the hydrophobicity of the lead.
By aerating the slurry, the lead
bubbles up to the surface as a
froth which is then skimmed.
By adding other chemicals to
the remaining slurry, the zinc
bubbles up as a froth which is
then also skimmed.
Skimming zinc concentrate froth
environmental protection
IMM is part of the Binani Group
which feels very strongly about
environmental responsibility:
On Tuesday 21.05.2013 Dutch
Ambassador Marriët Schuurman visited the Toranica mine
near Kriva Palanka. NL Chamber member Indo Minerals
and Metals (IMM) exploits this
mine as well as the Zletovo
mine near Probistip for lead
and zinc ore.
Ambassador Schuurman and
NL Chamber director Bob Smit
were guided around by Mrs Biljana Crvenkovska-Jovanoska
from IMM’s Skopje office and
plant manager Mr Mehta.
froth flotation
The grinder, grinding the ore
Froth of lead concentrate bubbling up and being skimmed
simple market
The two final products are lead
(Pb) and zinc (Zn) concentrate.
“The entire production of lead
and zinc concentrate is sold on
contracts for 3 to 5 years with
one single customer. New contracts are closed every year
in October in London,” Biljana Crvenkov­ska-Jovanoska
­explains.
“The company’s efforts are focused on prudently using and
conserving natural resources
and deploying superior technical solutions to prevent ecological contamination.” The un­
avoidable waste of the Toranica
mine is stored in a remote basin that is fully isolated from
the environment.
www.binaniindustries.com
photos: NL Chamber
The ore is transported by rail
from the inside of the mountain to the processing plant.
The ore is first processed into
8

9. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
members
Steel Con builds factory in Stip for Dutch client
Dutch-Macedonian joint-venture Steel Con is constructing a factory for a Dutch company in Stip.
The Dutch-Macedonian jointventure in reinforcement bars
and steel constructions, Steel
Con from Kumanovo, is constructing a factory in Stip.
The client is the Dutch-owned
company Vitezis, producer of
slings for the health care sector. Vitezis is currently renting
premises in Stip, but with the
growth of the business and the
introduction of a new product,
sliding sheets, the company
was ready for an own, larger
building.
www.steelcon.mk
Construction of a factory for Dutch Vitezis in Stip by Steel Con.
members
Vitalia health food at World Private Label fair Amsterdam
Health food producer Vitalia exhibited at the fair World Private Label in Amsterdam.
Quite some traffic at Vitalia stand
For the fourth year Vitalia exhi­
bited at the fair World Private
Label in Amsterdam. “Also this
year we had a substantial number of food trade professionals
visi­ing our stand. Sales nego­
t
tiations are going on,” says
Maja Duckinoska of Vitalia.
A new product line with Chia
seeds and Stevia extracts was
selected for the showroom of
innovative products and con-
cepts “Idea Supermarket” at
the fair. Vitalia already sells to
a major Dutch wholesale company as a result of a previous
edition of World Private Label.
www.vitalia.com.mk
members
Konimex on business trip to the Netherlands
While visiting the fair World Private Label Konimex also visited several potential clients.
na­ ed to get in touch with the
g
key stakeholders in ­organic)
(
herbs, tea and essential oils
trade on the Dutch market.”
www.konimex.com.mk
photos: NL Chamber
Viktor Kolovski at potential client
While visiting the Netherlands for the occasion of the
fair World Private Label Viktor
Kolovski, CEO of Konimex, also
took the chance to visit several
other potential business partners.
Kolovski: “This was ­
really a
last-minute trip, but with the
help of NL Chamber I still ma­
9

10. newsletter no. 2 / June 2013
service
Customized business trip
Macedonian companies with a clear idea of potential Dutch business partners, can ­ rder
o
a customized business trip from NL Chamber. The same goes for Dutch companies,
l
­ooking for Macedonian business partners. Members and sponsors receive a discount.
Despite all contemporary ways
of communication, including
LinkedIn - where the Dutch
are amongst the most active
users in ­ urope - face-to-face
E
m
­ eetings remain essential for
fruitful business co-operation.
never waste a journey
Whether you are a Dutch
entre­eneur looking for partp
ners in Macedonia or a Mace­
donian company with ambi-
tions on the Dutch market,
NL Chamber can assist you in
developing your business trip,
customized to your needs and
available time. Most important: never waste a journey!
If you are travelling anyway,
visi­ ing a fair, an existing client
t
or even friends or relatives: do
inform NL Chamber about your
itinerary, because there might
be some interesting opportunities to fill up your agenda!
discount for members
The Board of NL Chamber has
defined a tariff of 300 EUR/day
for composing a programme,
scheduling meetings and - if
desired - guidance during the
business trip. Members and
sponsors receive a discount
of 50% on this tariff. Costs
for transport, accommodation,
food, admittance etc. are not
included.
statistics
With the accession to the EU of
Croatia on 1 July, the internal
market becomes again bigger.
Dutch export to the new EUmembers shows the fastest
growth. More than half of that
growth concerns Poland and
Hungary.
However, the share of these
new EU-markets in total Dutch
export value remains small,
whereas non-EU markets gain
more importance.
Currently, the export to Croatia is 0.1 %.
source: Statistics Netherlands
short
New flight times
Eindhoven-Skopje
flight times from
On Mondays and
EIN 14h10 SKP
SKP 17h25 EIN
28 October.
Fridays:
16h55
20h20
Agenda
Budget carrier Wizzair, connecting Skopje to Eindhoven
twice a week, will change the
14.07 Fashion fair Modefabriek
www.modefabriek.nl
15.07 Fashion fair Modefabriek
www.modefabriek.nl
08.09 Independence Day
Macedonia
illustration: Statistics Netherlands, Modefabriek; photo: NL Chamber
Dutch Export EU
10