Assessing the Agricultural Trade Complementarity of the Czech Republic and Countries in Western Balkan

Abstract

The article interrogates the complementarity of agrarian trade between the Czech Republic and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia applying the Trade Complementarity Index. Analyzing the last decade, the results indicate two-way complementarity of agrarian trade between the Czech Republic and North Makedonia and Montenegro. Due to the changes in the exports and import structure during the period under scrutiny, Serbia and Albania have also become complementary to the agrarian trade of the Czech Republic and vice versa. The Czech Republic's agrarian exports are also complementary to Bosnia and Herzegovina's agrarian imports. Generally, the results support the ongoing liberalization process between the EU and the Western Balkans and the rationale for the cooperation of the Czech Republic with Western Balkan countries and taking advantage of existing economic resources in the segment of agrarian products. However, results also indicate existing barriers to developing more intensive agrarian trade between the Czech Republic and countries of the Western Balkans.