Đelić: Sugar trade with EU "non issue"

Đelić: Sugar trade with EU "non issue"

He said that both Brussels and Belgrade looked to avoid any possibility of abuse of export privileges, as it happened in 2003 with a sugar smuggling scam when the EU imposed a year-long ban on Serbia’s exports.

“We have to be aware of the fact that sugar is a pressing issue for the EU at present. They have to cut the production by 30 percent to make room for nations from the Carribean and Africa.”

“It is all a part of a global market change. The EU wants to establish a sugar export system which cannot be prone to misuse, as was the case four years ago,” Đelić said.

The so-called sugar affair was exposed in 2003 and involved domestic producers who were passing off imported priduct as their own, and then exporting it to the European Union under preferential trade conditions.

Commenting on the fourth round of technical talks that ended Friday, Đelić said that they were difficult but very productive.

“I am satisfied that we managed to make big improvements when it comes to export. Serbia can from now on export up to 180,000 tons of sugar per year to the European Union without paying customs tax,” he explained.

“We have been granted a good export quota on the so-called baby beef of 8,700 tons a year valued at EUR 30mn. We also received a customs-free export quota on domestic wine at 50,000 hectoliters.”

“For the first time we managed to obtain an export quota on fish products. That should all serve as an encouragement to domestic development,” he said.

Đelić said that the Stabilization and Association Agreement would most likely be signed in October.