Serbian growers were in Berlin in full force this year, exhibiting for the third time. The country enjoyed a triple-digit increase in fresh fruit exports in 2006, and producers are rapidly expanding their production capacity and achieving GlobalGAP and HACCP accreditation.
Remer Lane, marketing and export lead for the USAID Agribusiness Project in Serbia, said: “Over the last four years, Serbia has gone from having a €150 million (£112m) agricultural trade deficit to having a trade surplus of €350m. Fresh exports doubled last year, and there has been a big transition to fresh varieties. Growth is exponential.
“Russia is already a significant buyer of Serbian produce,” he said. “But we are ready to diversify markets. We already ship frozen fruits and dried and fresh mushrooms to the UK, largely to the foodservice and wholesale sectors. We have lots of interest from UK companies now, and have received an invitation to exhibit at the Royal Show in early July. There are still challenges in terms of logistics, but we are meeting them.”
Seven Serbian companies were at the show this year, and the response was encouraging, said Lane, whose role with the USAID Agribusiness Project in Serbia is to further increase Serbian agricultural product sales and make exports more competitive. “We’re a market-driven, five-year agribusiness project which started in September, with the goal of reaching new markets, including the UK. The programme covers meat, dairy, cheese, fruit and veg, herbs and mushrooms,” he said.
Ing Zvonomir Jovanovic is executive manager of Collection IGDA, a Serbian firm shipping dried mushrooms to Tesco. “We are very happy about the way our business in the UK is growing, and Tesco has asked us to supply more stores,” he told freshinfo.
No comments yet