With an increase in personal consumption of 140 million and an increase in the export of goods and services by 130 million, Montenegro became the European record holder for gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.9% in the second quarter of this year (April, May and June) compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Monstat Statistics Authority.
Almost half of Montenegrin exports of 400 million this year are electricity, with a growth of 45%, which was achieved due to a good rainy season compared to last year’s drought. The growth of personal general consumption of citizens is influenced by the fact that, according to official data, about 80,000 foreigners, mostly Turks, Russians and Ukrainians, who came because of the war and political crises in their homelands, are now living in Montenegro and spend their money here.
This shows that the greatest part of this growth was not influenced by the economic and political elite and their decisions and activities, but by nature and wars in another part of the continent.
That Montenegro has almost nothing else besides the production of electricity, which depends on the sky, and tourism, the most sensitive economy, is also shown by the data on commodity trade.
After electricity, the largest export was achieved in non-ferrous metals, aluminum. In May of this year, the aluminum plant stopped the symbolic production of aluminum at the previous 12 cells, out of the former total of 520 cells, so that now this former giant is engaged in the production of imported aluminum alloys.
According to Monstat data, Montenegro imported aluminum for 44 million and exported it for 51 million, so the actual export could only be worth around seven million euros. Two years ago, KAP, owned by businessman Veselin Pejović, shut down most of the production because it offered Energy company an extension of the supply contract at a price of 45 euros per megawatt, because that was the highest price at which the production would be paid, while on the international stock exchanges the price at that time was about 150 euros.
