“No meat shortage in Serbia”

There is no meat shortage in the Serbian market, says Agriculture Minister Sasa Dragin. He pointed out that such claims probably came from the same “media kitchen” which from time to time released stories about shortages of other products. “No meat shortage in Serbia” “What we can notice in the meat market is that we have a slight drop in the price due to surplus of fatlings, and it’s important for us to keep the price of fatlings on a stable level,” the minister explained. He has assessed that measures of the Agriculture Ministry are contributing to such situation because it has enabled a stable price of fatlings by introducing stricter control at all border crossings and by prohibiting import of meat which has been frozen longer than six months. Commenting on claims that there is a meat shortage in Serbia, Dragin said that we had also had an “attempt to create artificial oil shortage because there was an attempt to pressure the state into allowing free import of oil plants”. With 350,000 tons of produced oil plants Serbia will have enough raw material for production of about 140,000 tons of oil, he stressed and added that domestic need for oil was about 100,000 tons – 80,000 tons for the citizens and 20,000 tons for industry, primarily for production of mayonnaise and confectionery industry. “This leaves us about 40,000 tons for export, with interim reserves that are just about the same. We also expect a significant income from export of oil plants this year,” the agriculture minister pointed out. Speaking about current situation in the milk market, he repeated that the Agriculture Ministry was not authorized to control the amount of milk, but only its quality but that the Trade and Services Ministry was in charge of that. Dragin is convinced that the two ministries will together manage to solve the problem. “What’s important for the state is to complete the process and on the other hand to provide enough funds in the budget for the next year that would enable higher incentives in dairy cow breeding,” he said. The minister also stressed that it would allow the industry “which has been in an extremely difficult situation during last several months due to monopolistic position of a single company to get back on the right track”, so there would be a normal milk products supply. He pointed out that decision of the Administrative Court which confirmed that a large company in the milk market had a monopoly showed farmers that the state was protecting them and that an opportunity had opened for the farmers to seek compensation. “I think that real winners are farmers themselves and every citizen of Serbia who was revolted when they went into the store and saw empty shelves and not the state,” Dragin concluded. Sasa Dragin (FoNet)

“No meat shortage in Serbia”

“What we can notice in the meat market is that we have a slight drop in the price due to surplus of fatlings, and it’s important for us to keep the price of fatlings on a stable level,” the minister explained.

He has assessed that measures of the Agriculture Ministry are contributing to such situation because it has enabled a stable price of fatlings by introducing stricter control at all border crossings and by prohibiting import of meat which has been frozen longer than six months.

Commenting on claims that there is a meat shortage in Serbia, Dragin said that we had also had an “attempt to create artificial oil shortage because there was an attempt to pressure the state into allowing free import of oil plants”.

With 350,000 tons of produced oil plants Serbia will have enough raw material for production of about 140,000 tons of oil, he stressed and added that domestic need for oil was about 100,000 tons – 80,000 tons for the citizens and 20,000 tons for industry, primarily for production of mayonnaise and confectionery industry.

“This leaves us about 40,000 tons for export, with interim reserves that are just about the same. We also expect a significant income from export of oil plants this year,” the agriculture minister pointed out.

Speaking about current situation in the milk market, he repeated that the Agriculture Ministry was not authorized to control the amount of milk, but only its quality but that the Trade and Services Ministry was in charge of that.

Dragin is convinced that the two ministries will together manage to solve the problem.

“What’s important for the state is to complete the process and on the other hand to provide enough funds in the budget for the next year that would enable higher incentives in dairy cow breeding,” he said.

The minister also stressed that it would allow the industry “which has been in an extremely difficult situation during last several months due to monopolistic position of a single company to get back on the right track”, so there would be a normal milk products supply.

He pointed out that decision of the Administrative Court which confirmed that a large company in the milk market had a monopoly showed farmers that the state was protecting them and that an opportunity had opened for the farmers to seek compensation.

“I think that real winners are farmers themselves and every citizen of Serbia who was revolted when they went into the store and saw empty shelves and not the state,” Dragin concluded.