Private Sector

13) IPARD grants could possibly support rural tourism in 2020

January 3rd, 2020, http://www.tanjug.rs/full-view_en.aspx?izb=528851

Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture has proposed that IPARD funds be extended for two new measures: (1) grants for investments in rural tourism and (2) support for the Ministry's steering body. If approved by the European Commission (EC), Serbian citizens will be able to apply for IPARD grants for constructing and equipping rural tourism facilities. The Ministry’s steering body will also receive financial assistance to carry out information and educational activities aimed at boosting the utilization of IPARD funds and improving the implementation of IPARD programs.

Private Sector

14) Poultry farms need to adapt to EU standards

January 21st, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/zivinarske-farme-da-se-prilagode-standardima-eu/

Serbia’s poultry farms have much work to do in adopting European Union (EU) standards in order to remain eligible for exports to the EU. Meeting the new standards requires a significant shift in how poultry farms operate, especially in the space required for them to operate. For example, EU standards imply a 36% reduction in the number of chickens housed in the same area. Moreover, chickens must be given a nest in which to lay eggs and must have access to all the elements of life in nature.

An estimated EUR 50 million-EUR 60 million will be required to update all poultry farms in the country to these new conditions.

15) Expensive land prices have many farmers walking away

January 18th, 2020, https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/ekonomija/aktuelno.239

Agricultural land in Serbia is valued at EUR 10,000-EUR 20,000 per hectare, nearly twice as much as in surrounding areas. Moreover, prices are expected to continue to increase in the near future, causing many owners of agricultural land to charge increased rental prices to farmers. This, in turn, has put farmers in a situation where production in increasingly expensive and decreasingly profitable, leading to many to simply quit agriculture. The main problem stems from those in different industries increasing the demand for arable land, which they view as a better investment than buying apartments, gold or saving at banks. Farmers, which often have already thin profit margins, simply cannot afford the higher prices to buy the land and are stuck being renters. But with rental prices increasing, many are moving on to greener pastures in other industries to support their families.

At some point, the situation will become unstable. But until then, the farmers (especially smaller-sized one) are the ones truly suffering.

16) Raspberry prices up 30% worldwide

January 17th, 2020, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/445971/Svetske-nestasice-pogurale-cenu-maline

Raspberry prices the world over have increased by about 30% thanks to bad weather impacting Chile’s raspberry production. Serbia, as one of the world’s largest raspberry producers and exporters, could benefit from this rise in raspberry prices, although the country has been experiencing its own issues in recent years and saw a production level of only 53,000 tons last year (down from 83,000 tons in 2016). Serbian raspberry producers are also facing increased competition from new competitor countries, in-

17) Fruit production and export levels dropped in 2019

January 15th, 2020, http://www.stips.minpolj.gov.rs/srl/vest/manji-proslogodisnji-rod-voca

Tentative estimates of Serbia’s 2019 fruit production levels indicate that Serbia produced 7-8% less fruit in 2019 than it did in 2018. This equates to approximately USD 625 million-USD 630 million in total export value. These figures include increases in the production and export of apples, apricots and cherries as well as decreases in the production and export of pears, quinces and nuts.

18) Insurance assessment needs overhaul

January 13th, 2020, https://www.021.rs/story/Info/Biznis-i-ekonomija/231952/Pomazuci

In recent years, farmers have been hit hard by a number of adverse weather events –from frost and strong winds to inundations and severe droughts. This would lead many to think that insurance is of vital importance to Serbian farmers; however, households and small-sized farmers in Serbia struggle to afford appropriate insurance products, even with state subsidies of up to 70% of the premium. In fact, those really benefitting from state subsidies tend to be the larger producers that do not really need the assistance. This is largely due to the way assessment works in Serbia, which is based on outdated approaches that favor larger farms. For insurance subsidies to truly benefit the intended recipients (i.e. households and small-sized farmers), the government needs to support efforts to revamp insurance assessment.

19) Agricultural drone usage becoming increasingly popular

January 11th, 2020, https://agrosmart.net/2020/01/11/bespilotne-letelice-u-poljoprivredi-dronovi-sve-vide/

Drones are taking off to help improve agricultural development around the world. In Serbia, drones are being used increasingly for a number of different tasks, including determining land quality and monitoring against theft. In the near future, the state is also planning to use them to detect illegal pasture plowing, illegal facilities and wild landfills. Research is also being conducted to use drones to monitor plant stress due to a lack of or excess moisture, inadequate nutrition and the appearance of diseases and pests. The sky is literally the limit for how drones can be used to improve Serbia’s agricultural sector.

20) Water consumption for irrigation up in 2019

January 10th, 2020, http://www.tanjug.rs/full-view_en.aspx?izb=530033

According to Serbia’s National Statistical Office, 24.1% more water was consumed for irrigation in Serbia in 2019 than was consumed in 2018, despite the total irrigated surface being smaller. In total, 67,692 cubic meters of water (90.2% of which came from waterways) were used last year to irrigate 46,863 hectares of agricultural land (0.2% less than in 2018). Sprinkling was the most common irrigation method (92.3%), followed by drip irrigation (7.6%) and surface irrigation (0.1%). Of the total irrigated area, arable land and gardens was the most irrigated (94.9%), followed by orchards (4.5%) and other agricultural land (0.6%).

December 29th, 2019, https://www.ekapija.com/news/2736818/ako-se-klasicna-kuga-svinja-ne-vrati-izvoz-mesa-u-eu-za

Serbia suspended vaccination against classical swine flu last month; however, this is only one step towards exporting Serbian pork to European Union (EU) markets. It will be important for Serbia, going forward, to monitor, examine and report on the state of pig health in the country (including pig deaths). If all progresses as it is expected to, Serbian pork exports to EU markets could resume within a year. The opening of such markets would likely result in an increase in the number of pigs in the country, which currently stands at around 3 million.

Prepared by Business & Finance Consulting (BFC) www.bfconsulting.com Articles are taken directly from local sources without any fact-checking; they are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Business & Finance Consulting (BFC)’s editing is limited to providing a short summary in English of the texts, highlighting the main points of the original articles. All rights reserved by the authors. BFC takes no responsibility and does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, or assume any responsibility whatsoever for the content, accuracy, and reliability, or completeness of any of the articles.