No abstract

No abstract

Household consumption of dairy products is one the major component in the total sales of the Albanian dairy industry. Therefore, understanding the factors which may significantly influence household consumption is important in the planning of farmers, processors and manufacturers. Consumers' responses to changes in price and non-price factors are basic to an economic analysis of almost all the policy decisions related to industry or government programs. Forecasting the future direction of household consumption, and how that direction might be modified through industry efforts or by national programs and policies, requires information on the relationships among prices, incomes, household characteristics and consumer demand. This study focuses on households as consuming units, explains and analyzes their purchasing behavior for dairy products. As milk is a very important component of the Albanians diet, this study explores consumer preferences for milk in Albania and also tries to determine consumers profiles based on their preferences and socio-demographic factors. To reach these objectives, this research designed a conjoint choice experiment survey and collected primary data in the most populated cities of Albania. This study provides useful information to different stakeholders including milk producers and importers. The milk industry and its marketers may benefit from this information by using it to strategically market their milk to different groups.

In recent years ISO 9001 standards and TQM techniques appear as the main tool in the market. This paper analyzes the relationship between ISO 9001 standards and TQM techniques in Macedonian SME-s. The research conducted in this paper shows the benefits that enterprises receive from the implementation of ISO 9001 standards and the relationship between them based on theoretical and empirical research. We, as authors emphasize the need for enterprises to focus on issues related to the application of this standard and TQM techniques to enterprises of Republic of Macedonia (specifically Polog Region). To analyze this effect, it was necessary to use the method of surveying with enterprises in the Republic of Macedonia. The research is based on a survey of 120 enterprises on Polog Region, where is analyzed the relationship between ISO 9001 standards and TQM techniques and which one of these quality techniques enterprises apply mostly. With the data processing, we can conclude that even though there are large difference s between ISO 9001 standards and Total Quality management again there is a good relationship between them.

This chapter discusses trends in agricultural production (livestock, field crops, fruit and vegetables) and presents an overview of the food processing industry in Albania. Various sub-sectors of the food processing industry are then described in terms of production and processing, namely: meat and fish products; canned fruit, vegetables and oil; dairy products; alcoholic beverages; and other processed products. The number of firms, size of firms, number of employees, the level of competition with imports, and the future of the subsector are the indicators that are considered to characterize the profile of each sub-sector.