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Private Sector
13) Ninth NLB Organic Competition announced
May 27th, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/deveti-konkurs-nlb-banke-milion-i-po-dinara-za-zdrave-ideje/
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NLB Bank Belgrade has announced the Ninth NBL Organic Competition, under which it will award the top three projects with a total of RSD 1.5 million. The competition is open to registered farms that are certified organic producers or in the process gaining organic certification. Project applications will be accepted through July 31.
14) The rise of “patriotic agriculture” likely to reduce Serbian exports
May 27th, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/jacanje-patriotske-poljoprivrede-smanjuje-izvoz-iz-srbije/
The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic shift in the way countries think about their agricultural production, causing a rise in the idea of “patriotic agriculture”. In other words, the closure of borders has caused many countries to start to examine how to produce for their own and drastically reduce their reliance on imports. For example, Russia is investing huge amounts into creating its own orchards so that it can substitute many imports with domestic products. While the impact of this might not be immediately felt as it takes time for such investments to come to full fruition, Serbian producers and exports should work now to boost the quality of their products to ensure they still have a place in future markets.
May 26th, 2020, http://www.rtv.rs/sr_ci/ekonomija/aktuelno/nacionalni-tim-za
The National Team for the Revival of Serbian Villages has called on repatriates and other interested citizens to invest in poultry farming as it has tremendous promise in Serbia. The main advantage of poultry production is that it can be established relatively quickly and can be easily organized. Moreover, there is tremendous room for the growth of the poultry industry within the country, especially as poultry imports exceed those of exports. In fact, Serbia imported over 11,800 tons of poultry worth EUR 13.8 million in 2019. To support investments in poultry farming, the state has expressed its willingness to organize visits to successful poultry farms for interested parties. Additionally, incentive funds are available under the 500 Cooperatives in 500 Villages program.
16) Only 12% of cultivated land is insured
May 22nd, 2020, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/454662/Poljoprivrednici-i-dalje-izbegavaju-da-placaju-osiguranje
According to the latest data, only 12% of the total agricultural land in Serbia that is cultivated is covered by insurance, far lower than the European Union (EU) average of 50%. Although there have been increased state incentives to encourage farmers to purchase agricultural insurance, this has had little effect in overcoming farmers’ resistance to invest 1.5-3.0% of the total cost of production to protect their harvests. The reasons for the reluctance of farmers are many, but the most predominate include poor prior experiences with insurers, ignorance about what insurance really offers and state incentives being only available to those with registered farms. It is clear that much work needs to be done in bridging the gap between farmers and insurers and that solutions need to be evaluated toward this end, be it making insurance a requirement for receiving other state subsidies or making insurance compulsory for all farmers.
17) Raspberry producers hopeful for increased purchase price this year
May 21st, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/vocari-se-nadaju-ceni-od-175-evra-za-kilogram-maline/
Decreased raspberry production worldwide, especially in Chile, Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are giving Serbian raspberry producers hope for a better purchase price this year. With exporters expected to earn a price of at least EUR 1.75 per kilogram, domestic producers are looking for much more than the RSD 160-165 per kilogram they received last year. In fact, many are hoping to see prices higher than RSD 300 per kilogram.
It should be noted that Serbia’s raspberry production this year is expected to be 40% less than last year’s 60,000 tons. This decrease is due to a combination of some producers switching production away from raspberries, unfavorable weather conditions in some areas and non-cultivation due to measures imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19. There also remains some concern as to whether or not producers will be able to find enough labor for harvesting as fears of COVID-19 infection continue.
18) More investment needed in viticulture and wine production
May 21st, 2020, https://beta.rs/ekonomija/ekonomija-srbija/127688-krkobabic
Serbia has been proactive in developing viticulture and wine production in recent years; however, the Minister of Regional Development has called for even more production and a concentration on improving overall wine quality. He noted the strong work already made in this direction, especially the fact that Serbian winemakers are increasingly joining regional associations that are working to help winemakers improve production and protect national branding. The Minister also noted the importance of the development of wine tourism in the country.
The Minister believes that, with greater investments in technology and modern techniques, the country’s viticulture and wine production can be boosted even more. To this end, he announced the state’s plan to invest EUR 300 million in improvement measures over the next ten years. This includes providing funding for increasing incentives for new vineyards, compensating laboratory costs and subsidizing the purchase of new machinery.
19) 40 tons of honey imported from Moldova
May 21st, 2020, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/454587/U-Srbiju-uvezeno-40-tona-meda-iz-Moldavije
Approximately 40 tons of honey have been imported into Serbia from Moldova recently. The Moldovan honey, which was imported at a price of EUR 2.20 per kilogram, represents a threat to domestic production as it is significantly cheaper. According to the Association of Beekeeping Organizations of Serbia, this marks the first time that foreign honey has been imported into Serbia in such a quantity. They also note that there are concerns regarding the origin of the honey, with some stating that it could, in fact, be low-quality honey originating from China. Domestic producers are concerned that continued imports in such high volumes and at such cheap prices will ultimately lead to consumer confusion and drive out domestic competition.
20) Agriculture least affected by the state of emergency
May 18th, 2020, http://www.rtv.rs/sr_ci/ekonomija/aktuelno/poljoprivreda-bila
Agriculture Minister Branislav Nedimovic noted that agriculture was the least impacted sector by measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. In particular, he pointed out that no policies concerning rural development were or will be ceased and that additional measures have been adopted to support producers of early vegetables, greenhouse and apiarists over the age of 70. The Minister also
announced the launch of a new funding competition for the procurement of tractors as well as another one, under IPARD, for investments in rural tourism.
It should also be noted that, during the state of emergency, Serbia obtained a permit to export apples to India, beef to Arab markets and strawberries to Russia. At the same time, the export of Serbian corn was limited in order to ensure domestic food security.
21) Wheat yield forecast revised downward
May 14th, 2020, https://beta.rs/ekonomija/ekonomija-srbija/127327-udruzenje-zita-srbije-psenici-treba-jos-kise
Vukosav Sakovic, director of the Business Association for the Improvement of the Production and Export of Grain and Oilseeds, is expecting smaller wheat yields this year due to less rainfall. If should be noted that this is relative to February predictions, which were forecasting near-record yields. Sakovic’s revised expectation is that wheat yields will be average this year.
22) Crisis not significantly impacting prices of fruits and vegetables
May 12th, 2020, http://rs.n1info.com/Biznis/a598621/Prostran-Sezonsko
Agricultural economist Milan Prostran has concluded that the COVID-19 crisis has not had a significant impact on the overall price of fruits and vegetables in Serbia, with most seen increases being the result seasonality. Prostran did note that the crisis did impact some prices as there was an absence of competition from imports for some products. He expects prices to drop once normal import regimes resume and once the economy adjusts to the lower overall purchasing power of citizens.
23) Serbia ripe for cultivation of medicinal, aromatic and spicy herbs
May 6th, 2020, https://beta.rs/ekonomija/ekonomija-srbija/126949-nacionalni-tim-za
The National Team for Rural Revival in Serbia believes that Serbia’s geography, geology and biological diversity are perfect for the production of medicinal, aromatic and spicy herbs. Currently, there are approximately 50,000 Serbians engaged in such production, utilizing approximately 2,000-3,000 hectares. The National Team, however, believes that the production area in Serbia could be 2-3 times more for these products. Increasing such production would be an important step for Serbia, both in terms of increasing export volume and overall export value as well as in terms of substituting domestically-produced products for imported ones. In order to stimulate production in this direction, the National Team noted that more associations, a higher degree of domestic processing capacity and more investments in advanced technologies are needed.
24) Agricultural and food product trade surplus of EUR 362 million
May 6th, 2020, https://beta.rs/ekonomija/ekonomija-srbija/126946-spoljnotrgovinski
In the first quarter of this year, Serbia exported EUR 867 million worth of agricultural and food products and imported EUR 505 million worth of them, resulting in a foreign trade surplus of EUR 362 million. Compared to the first quarter of last year, this represents an increase in exports of 16.9% and an increase in imports of 11.9%.
The majority of Serbia’s agricultural and food product trade was conducted with the European Union (EU), Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) countries and Russia.
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.
