Good agri prices, but unfavorable weather conditions and lower yields marked the situation in Serbian agriculture this year. That nation’s Minister of Agriculture assessed the situation as follows: "There were high expectations in April and May, but we will still end the year as before - the same gross domestic product in agriculture. I expected further increase in June, but the July drought did not allow it. Raspberries reached €3.4/kg, some say they sold for more, blackberries were even better than last year, plums are not bad.” He did not hide his enthusiasm for this year's fruit prices.
In the first six months of 2021, the Serbian agriculture and food industry sectors registered a trade turnover of €3.1 billion, which is an 11.7% increase y-o-y, announced the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS). Exports in the sector were worth €1.98 billion, rising by 13.6% y-o-y and accounting for 19.6% of overall exports of goods.
Imports were worth nearly €1.12 billion, growing by 8.4% y-o-y and accounting for 8.6% of the overall imports of goods. Trade in agriculture and food products saw an €859.4 million surplus, which is a 21.1% increase y-o-y.
On the import side, the top goods were bananas (€35.1 million euros), various food products (slightly over €55 million), unroasted coffee (€22.1 million), cigarettes (€19.7 million) and pork (€18 million).
Serbia has 24,000 hectares farmed organically
Over the past few years, more and more farmers in Serbia have been opting for organic production, stated Serbian Minister of Agriculture. He added that Serbia had a total area of 24,000 ha of land farmed organically. In his opinion small parcels could generate the most profit if they shifted to the organic fruit production.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
