When presenting his Government's program in May 2021, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, among other things, that the great potential of food production in Kosovo should be used not only for domestic needs, but also for export.

He said that he will engage in the purchase of manufacturing and processing machinery for export, as well as assist businesses in finding export markets.

As part of their support, he said that Kosovo will also establish its own Development Bank.

"It will be a mechanism for supporting the private sector and promoting investments. It will be the lending component, which will be financed by public money and the sale of debt securities, by investing in certain branches of industry, which create jobs and improve the trade balance," Kurti said in 2021.

Four years later, this bank has not been established and the trade balance has not changed, reports Radio Free Europe.

If there is economic growth, why are we not feeling it?

Data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics and the country's Customs show that in 2021 the value of exports to Kosovo was 775.7 million euros, while imports were 4.6 billion euros.

In 2024, exports have increased to 990.2 million euros, but so have imports to 6.3 billion euros.

Kurti also makes similar promises in the campaign for the February 9 elections - in which he will run for a second term as prime minister from the Vetëvendosje Movement.

"We will provide support of up to one billion euros for medium and large investments in manufacturing enterprises across Kosovo. We will increase production, we will increase investment, we will enable reinvestment and we will increase exports," Kurti said at a rally with his supporters in Gjakova.

With such promises, his opponents are also addressing their supporters.

Bedri Hamza of the Democratic Party of Kosovo has said that he will allocate over 6 billion euros for capital and development projects.

"We do not insult private businesses. We will support private businesses. In my government, there will no longer be VAT payments at the border, but within Kosovo, after the sale of products and not before," Hamza told supporters in Skenderaj.

For Lumir AbdixhikuIn the Democratic League of Kosovo, businesses create new jobs, export and reduce the high trade deficit. It is a "paradox of the times", according to him, that they still face a lack of electricity today.

"After February 9, the Government of Kosovo, the right-wing government, sees businesses as partners. It will work with them and we will build Kosovo with them," he said. Abdixhiku during a visit to a metal construction company.

This view of businesses, in several rallies with supporters, has also been shared by Ramush Haradinaj of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

"We must send clear signals that business is a partner. Businesses are added value, they create budgets, they create investments. We must empower our entrepreneurs, not just the big ones and not just the few, but every entrepreneur in Kosovo must be our partner," Haradinaj told his supporters in Rahovec.

Each of these parties, at different times after independence and beyond, has either been at the head of the Kosovo Government or a coalition partner. There have been subsidies for businesses here and there.

At a conference with businesspeople at the end of last year, Kurti said that, over three years, he has distributed 1.3 billion euros to businesses in the form of grants and other programs, to strengthen their competitiveness in local and international markets.

But the trade balance has never improved. Kosovo imports an average of 5 billion euros worth of goods each year, from onions, tomatoes and apples to construction materials, while exporting less than 1 billion euros worth, mainly metal and plastic products.

Kosovo producers constantly complain about high Value Added Tax, informal economy, high interest rates on loans, lack of infrastructure, unstable electricity supply, and more.

Ramiz Gashi has been running a company for years that produces paints and facades. With over 40 employees, he says the company has managed to export to 11 countries around the world, including Germany, France, Britain and Cyprus - all on its own.

Gashi says that whenever it rains, his business is surrounded by water due to the poor sewage infrastructure around it. This problem, he says, hinders the business's operations and should be urgently resolved.

"We have made several requests, protests and petitions, not only us, but all the businesses that operate here, and they have all fallen on deaf ears," says Gashi.

This businessman expresses his belief that he can become a major exporting giant and even influence the adjustment of the trade balance, if he receives a helping hand from the state.

Lulzim Rafuna, president of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, says that whichever party forms the government has the opportunity to fulfill its promises to businesses, if it wants to treat them seriously.

According to him, Kosovo does not have the luxury of having public debt at 17 percent of gross domestic product, when by law it can go up to 40 percent, and use it in favor of development.

"The first decision of the Government should be to define Kosovo's competitive sectors and focus on them, support them, subsidize them, take measures, whether administrative, in terms of fiscal policies or interest rates, so that businesses can produce as much as possible, export as much as possible and reduce the imports that we have so high," Rafuna tells Exposena.

Specifically, he lists three more steps: Value Added Tax reform, the release of more raw materials, and economic diplomacy. The increase in production, and consequently exports, is then guaranteed.

"By creating the conditions for business, you not only grow the business you have within Kosovo, but also motivate the arrival of foreign investors. We must bear in mind that Kosovo cannot develop alone and by closing itself off. It is urgent for Kosovo to join any initiative that promotes an open market for importing and exporting products," says the chairman of the KCC.

From foreign gardens to Kosovar tables

Lekë Musa, an economic expert and former director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, says that Kosovo is unable to develop every industry, but there are some, such as information technology, the wood or fruit industry, that could explode in foreign markets.

"Help them by creating preconditions and stimulating policies, but first of all, remove the barriers that hinder them on a daily basis. Then, there is an opportunity to help them improve quality and reach the standards required in European markets," Musa tells Expose.

Data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics for 2023 show that the country had 68.390 active businesses, compared to 81.692 in 2022.

A positive trade balance, according to experts, strengthens the economy and ensures financial stability.

According to a World Bank forecast in October last year, economic growth in Kosovo this year will be 3.9 percent, up from 3.8 percent last year.

With a relatively young population, land suitable for cultivating various crops, and water and mineral resources, Kosovo of 1.6 million has hope... but this hope will only take shape when governments replace promises with actions - preferably before the next election cycle.