POMURSKA - Economy
The most agricultural region
In terms of economic power, Pomurska is among the weakest Slovene regions, contributing only 4.5% to national goss value added in 2000. Furthermore, it has the lowest GDP per capita. Although the highest level of value added from agriculture (10.3%) occurs here, the service sector is the major contributor (54.0%) to the local economy, followed by industry (35.6%).
Agriculture dominates the plains. Apart from wheat, fodder crops such as silage corn and grain corn are mostly grown, forming the basis for dairy farming and pig breeding. Large areas are also under sugar beet cultivation. Small farms prevail (less than 10 ha), while in the central part of the plains farmland belongs to agricultural enterprises. There are also several large pig farms. Wine growing is important in Lendavske gorice and Slovenske gorice. The relatively strong food-processing industry, located mainly in Murska Sobota, Gornja Radgona and Lendava, has close links with agriculture (flour mills, meat and milk products). There is a large bottling plant for natural mineral water and non-alcoholic beverages in Radenci.
After World War II, industry was mostly established in towns on the plains. Labour-intensive industries (such as textile and footwear) prevail. The most important company is Mura from Murska Sobota with several branches in other parts of the region. It is the largest producer of clothing for men and women in Slovenia. In Lendava there is the only Slovene petroleum refinery, as well as some chemical industries (organic basic chemicals). Other important industrial sectors include the manufacturing of metal products in Gornja Radgona (containers) and electronics in Lendava. The small business and construction sectors are less developed than in other parts of Slovenia.
Value added generated by the services sector is below the national average, however it is similar to the majority of other regions with the exception of
Obalna-Kraška and Osrednjeslovenska. The position of trade and tourism is relatively strong in Pomurska. Tourism is based on abundant natural mineral and thermal water sources, and health resorts have been developed in Radenci, Moravske Toplice, Lendava and Banovci. The annual agriculture and food industry fair in Gornja Radgona is important within Slovenia and further afield.
Compared to Podravska, Pomurska's economy was not affected so severely by the transition from centrally planned to market economy. The problem, however, is that the region's economy is oriented towards sectors with low capital investment (food production and other labour-intensive industries). A lack of entrepreneurs has led to low levels of capital investment and few new start-up companies, while skilled labour tends to find work in other regions.
Furthest from the heartland
Pomurska is the region most remote from the central part of the country and remains off the main Slovene traffic axes. Its position along the Austrian and Hungarian borders has became an advantage only recently, almost a decade after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, while in the past it was the main obstacle to cross-border cooperation between neighbouring countries.
During the 1990s, transit freight transport through Pomurska increased dramatically and the existing main road, running from Pesnica, via Lenart, Murska Sobota and Lendava to where it crosses the border at Dolga vas, can hardly cope. The situation will not improve until the motorway connection with Hungary in the direction of the 5th European traffic corridor (Venice-Ljubljana-Budapest-Kiev) is constructed. According to the Slovene National Motorway Construction Programme, the motorway will be constructed after 2004.
Nevertheless, the region has a dense network of local roads. In the plains, they are mostly paved, while in hilly areas there is still a large portion of unpaved local roads. They are very important for commuter traffic between rural areas and the main employment centres. However, Pomurska, with 49 100 private cars in 2002, had the lowest level of car ownership with 396 cars per 1 000 persons.
Pomurje has 84 km of railway track. The most important is the Ormoz-Ljutomer-Murska Sobota line. The railway connecting Murska Sobota with Hungary, constructed in 1907, was removed in 1968. At present, the Murska Sobota-Hodoš-Zalaövo (Hungary) railway line is being re-built along almost the same route.
Pomurska has no airport and the nearest airports are in Maribor and Graz (Austria). Rivers in the region are not navigable.
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