BELGRADE -- In an effort to curb the inflation rate that threatens to reach 50 percent this year and to stay within $1.8 billion of its balance of payments deficit, Yugoslavia plans to restrict imports and control prices and investment projects.
Premier Veselin Djuranovic in his report to the federal parliament on the economic situation in the first 5 months and prospects for 1982, Wednesday said investment spendings have been too high for years and are one of main sources of economic instability in the country.
Djuranovic called on Yugoslavia's six constituent republics and two autonomous provinces to share more responsibility in developing a unified market for the whole country on the basis of the workers self-managing system.
Yugoslavia's unique system is based on a market economy with decentralized and freely operating firms whose workers enjoy decision-taking and profit-sharing rights.
Djuranovic said major issues facing the nation are plans to increase industrial and agricultural production, and exports, to maintain balanced imports of raw material, and the balance of payments deficit, decrease the annual inflation rate and slow down all forms of consumption.
Among most worrying problems is a failure to reach planned exports to the hard currency market of Western countries and this could seriously ruin the whole economic plan, Djuranovic said.
He called for efforts to intensify exports in the second half of this year and at the same time undertake measures to limit imports and temporarily government-control prices on the domestic market.
