Private Sector

13) Meeting held to discuss lifting Russian restrictions on Serbian pork

February 19th, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/rusija-ukida-ogranicenja-na-uvoz-svinjetine-iz-srbije/

Ministry of Agriculture Bogdan Igic has met with the head of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to discuss lifting the restrictions Russia placed on Serbian pork imports in August of last year. The restrictions were placed last year due to concerns over African swine flu. Both sides agreed that the Minister would send the Russian Embassy in Belgrade Serbia’s map of infected areas, demonstrating that the disease is not present in meat producing regions. Following this, another meeting will be set up to determine a possible path forward. At the meeting, the two sides also discussed increasing imports of Russian agricultural products into Serbia, especially cereals, meat, fish and dairy products.

14) Agricultural export markets need to expand

February 18th, 2020, http://www.stips.minpolj.gov.rs/srl/vest/usporavanje-izvoza-poljoprivrednih-proizvoda

According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the total gross value of Serbian agricultural production in 2018 was USD 5.5 billion, a 16% year-on-year increase. Most of this increase was due to increased cereal, industrial plant and fruit production, with slight decreases to vegetable and livestock production. This, however, has not translated into increased agricultural export performance as higher amounts of cereals do not necessarily bring better profits, especially when sales prices fall significantly. In fact, if the structure of exports does not change, chances are good that foreign trade results of Serbian agriculture will get worse year after year. To ensure sustained (and even increased) results, Serbia must expand into new markets outside of its traditional markets in the European Union, CEFTA countries and Russia. Only then will it be able to command the best prices for production.

15) Cattle, pig numbers up; sheep, goat, poultry numbers down

February 16th, 2020, https://agrosmart.net/2020/02/16/raste-broj-goveda-i-svinja-a-opada-ovaca-koza-i-zivine/

According to data published by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the total number of cattle and pigs in the country increased (by 2.3% and 4.0% respectively) from the period of December 1, 2018 through December 1, 2019. 46.2% of all cattle in the country are found in the region of Sumadija and in Western Serbia. 42.4% of all pigs in the country are found in the region of Vojvodina.

During the same period, the total number of sheep, goats and poultry decreased, by 4.1%, 2.4% and 2.8% respectively.

16) Berry producers ask state to mediate dispute with processors

February 14th, 2020, http://rs.n1info.com/Biznis/a569404/Proizvodjaci-malina-i-kupina-traze

The Association of Raspberry and Blackberry Producers of Serbia is asking the state to mediate a dispute between producers and purchasers regarding purchase prices as soon as possible so that market conditions are known to all before the processing season begins. The dispute stems from producers seeing their profits fall while also observing the price of processed products rise. This is especially important for producers as weather events damaged as much as 30% of their harvest, meaning that prices should rise under normal market conditions.

February 12th, 2020, https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/ekonomija/aktuelno.239.html

Based on the economic results of last year, Vukosav Sakovic, director of the Cereals of Serbia Association, is predicting some changes as to what will be grown on agricultural land this year. Specifically, the expert notes that the area used to grow sunflowers is expected to decline this year to approximately 200,000-220,000 hectares. At the same time the area used to grow corn is expected to remain roughly the same at approximately 1 million hectares, while the area used to grow soybeans could see a small increase to approximately 24,000 hectares. Of course, it is still early in the year, and plans could change.

18) Only 1.4% of arable land irrigated

February 4th, 2020, http://www.stips.minpolj.gov.rs/srl/vest/sve-manje-zemljista-pod-sistemima-za-navodnjavanje

Serbia signed a USD 100 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Development Fund six years ago for the development of the country’s irrigation system; however, only 1.4% of Serbia’s 3.4 million hectares of arable land was irrigated as of last year. Despite the slow progress, Agriculture Minister Branislav Nedimovic noted the country’s plan to move forward with further measures to increase the amount of irrigated land in the country. He noted that work on the first phase of the project funded by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund loan is coming to an end and that the second phase is under development.

19) Warm winter could negatively impact fruit production

February 2nd, 2020, https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/ekonomija/aktuelno.239.htm

A lack of soil moisture caused by an unusually warm winter season is threatening Serbia’s fruit harvest for this year. Unless snow or some significant rain appears in the near future, the low level of soil moisture is likely to lead to lower fertility, smaller fruits and a reduced harvest. In an industry heavily driven by supply and demand to set prices, this means that fruit prices this year could become more expensive than ever before.

Experts point out that this is all still speculation at this point and that the situation could change, especially if the weather turns in the next month to provide more favorable soil conditions for fruit.

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.