"Export opportunities for Flemish fruit and veg in the Balkans and Lazio"

are nevertheless two very different export markets. What they have in common is the growing attention to quality products and fresh foodstuffs. Consequently there are definitely opportunities for selling our Flemish fruit and vegetables. The same was determined during a study trip in Italian Lazio" as per the REO Veiling.

 

"Croatia and Serbia are neighbouring countries in the western Balkans. Croatia is preparing to join the European Union with effect from 1 July 2013. In the candidate member's country Serbia it appears that it will still be a while before they will join the European Union. The present free trade zone between Serbia and Russia is still an obstacle for a quick joining of the EU. During the study trip organised by the Vereniging Directeuren Tuinbouwveilingen (VDT) we noticed, however, also that the Serbians were more and more looking towards the west. They not only trade in a liberal way with the EU, but also look for a more effective approach to Europe hoping that this close contact will lead to new economic activities." 



"Our two day study trip started with a presentation by both the Croatian and Serbia ambassadors and representatives of the ministry of Agriculture of Serbia. This country not only has the strongest industrial economy of the western Balkans, but also a rich production of fruit and vegetables. Serbia actually has a large potential

of more than 5 million HA of agricultural land, of which today 30% is still tree covered. In addition Serbia has production facilities, which are in line with the need of modern horticulture. This was confirmed during our working visit to the modern greenhouse company Sagal Company with tomatoes on the vine and lettuce on

4 HA., the strawberry producer Intersad and Grow Rasad, who since 2009 have grown lettuce for the local and Russian markets. This conglomerate with production in agriculture, sowing seed supply, bottling of water and the production of fruit and vegetables takes care of a total integration from field to fork. The ultra modern fruit growing company showed how Serbians themselves look to keep surplus value out of the chain of the producer. During the study trip we also met with a number of smaller growers, who often try and organise cooperatives. In this respect we visited Slankamenka, a fruit cooperative with mainly smaller family companies."

Sales of fruit and vegetables in Serbia take place in various ways. Amongst other places we visited a wholesale market on the border of Belgrade. Daily about 500 producers offer their products. Some with their old-timer lorries travel many tens of kilometres daily in order to sell their products on the wholesale market. The market wants to extend and is looking for investors. The difficult search for development money is a lamentation we regularly heard from the Serbians. The Serbian producers also offer their vegetables directly to the final consumer. At the so-called Green Market they rent a little table on which they present their products. This direct selling is very lively in Serbia, although supermarkets are developing. We established this during the presentation of the Belgian CEO of Delhaize Serbia. The Belgian distributor holds the highest position in the Serbian wholesale distribution market.

Delhaize Serbia want to develop further and tempts the consumer by offering top quality. During the study trip we established clearly that there is movement in the Balkans and that Serbia is a strongly growing market. Export to Serbia is not self-evident, however, because the country still has a way to go and is painfully short of money to go forwards quickly. On the other side Serbia is trying hard to leave the negative war image behind. For the time being the finances are short to grow fast, but the will to develop is there. Serbia wants a better future and therefore is looking for partners. It is possible here, where there are clear export possibilities for our horticultural products. It is up to our sector to grasp these opportunities."

 

"Our horticultural products can also play a role in the area of Italian Lazio. We were on a study trip because of the general meeting of the Groupement Européen des Producteurs de Champignons (GEPC). During the meeting it struck us that the promotion campaigns in the participating countries in fact assisted in the local consumption of fresh mushrooms. Sales on the domestic Polish market increased by 15%. Nevertheless prices remained low. The most important reasons were mentioned: the competition between distributors, the larger volume of mushrooms sold under house marks (Tesco want to increase the share of class 2 mushrooms to 30% of the total value sold) and the larger number of discounters in the sale of mushrooms. On the production side we established that the Dutch mushroom growers cultivate more on the basis of three instead of two flights.

Due to the lower rate of exchange of the Euro the export of tinned mushrooms to the United States increased in 2012. This tendency may well continue. On the other hand because of the economic crisis in some European countries, such as Greece, the consumption of tinned mushrooms has decreased. In addition the export of Polish mushrooms to Russia was difficult and therefore part of the mushrooms for the fresh market were processed into tinned mushrooms. This means that on the European level stocks of tinned mushrooms are back where they started. It is a matter of wait and see whether this trend will continue in the autumn."

 

"In the region Lazio we visited a few supermarkets and two wholesale markets:

Centro Agroalimentari di Roma (CAR) in Rome and Fondi between Rome and Naples. This region is an important production area for fresh vegetables. It was therefore normal that a lot of local product was available in the shops. We saw that there was space as well for Flandria tomatoes on the vine and Baron-tomatoes in 7 kg. packing. On two wholesale markets we also found white cabbage in wooden crates and 6 white cabbages in net bags of 10 kg., both from the Netherlands. On two markets there is also demand for chicory in packs of 500 gr. and vrac packing of

5 kg. At the time of our visit the leeks were from local production, but from autumn leeks will come from the northern regions (almost exclusively in net bags of

5 kg.). Dutch exporters are strikingly active on CAR and Fondi. Belgian exporters are missing on both markets.

 

Source: REO Actueel