North Macedonian bioeconomy: agri-food, forestry, and biomass energy

North Macedonia's agribusiness contributes 7.6% to GDP and 11.5% to employment in 2021, with 9.6% of exports comprising agricultural and food products. Key export markets include the EU (50.6%) and CEFTA (32%). The EU supplies 47.5% of agricultural imports, with 17.6% from the UK. The country has 1.1 million hectares of forestland, 90% of which is deciduous, dominated by beech and oak. Total wood reserves are 70 million m³, with 1 million m³ annual growth. Over 90% of forests are managed by the public enterprise 'National Forests'. Wood processing involves over 100 entities, primarily in furniture and carpentry. In 2021, fish catch reached 2,171,537 kg, with 65.6% cold-water fish, primarily from aquaculture (92.9%). Rainbow trout is the main farmed species. Biomass provides 6% of primary energy, with wood as the main source. Biogas and biofuel potential exists, supported by a 20,000-ton B100 biodiesel facility at Makpetrol.