Serbia sees chance to increase food exports to Russia
"Economic sanctions which Russia has introduced to some countries make room for a huge increase in exports of domestic (Serbian) products," says Željko Sertić.
Friday, 08.08.2014.
10:29
Serbia sees chance to increase food exports to Russia
According to Sertić, the Russian market is open primarily for plums produced in Serbia, but also for other agricultural and manufactured products, especially dairy and confectionery.He appealed to domestic producers to organize their potential, and added that the PKS had sent a request to all municipalities to "detect those companies that have the ability to export to the Russian market."
Also, companies with obligations to others in the region, the EU and other areas should continue to meet those obligations, said Sertić.
"It is important to note that our businesspeople who want to take part in the Russian market should be aware that it is now completely different from what it used to be. The Russian market is now much more complex, the requirements are much more specific and higher, and inspection services carry out more control than before," said Sertić.
Last year, 768 Serbian companies exported different goods to the Russian market, he noted.
"Even before August 1, when sanctions were imposed on imports of agricultural products from Poland, and especially since the decision was made to introduce economic sanctions against all countries that had imposed sanctions on Russia, we had a specific agreement with Russia and a possibility to export most of our products without paying customs duties and special taxes," explained Sertić.
With that, he explained, Serbian exporters had room for tremendous growth, "and now even more so when it is definitely clear that Russia will needto import new products to substitute the current imports."
Sertić said that in 2013, the Russian Federation imported food products worth USD 42 billion, while Serbian agricultural exports to that country at the same time reached USD 185 million, "and that big difference represents the potential for Serbia."
When it comes to the products that could now be more in demand, Sertić the Russian market had "unlimited need" for dried plums - but the problem in Serbia is that this year "there's too little even for domestic brandy."
Serbia is also failing to reach current export quotas for meat and meat products to Russia and the EU.
Serbian Ambassador Slavko Terzić told the media in Moscow that our country could significantly increase exports to Russia, which could help compensate for the absence of imports of goods from other countries.
Terzić mentioned fresh fruits and vegetables, especially apples and plums, as well as frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, but also meat and alcohol products.
According to him, Serbia is "a very interesting partner for Russia" in terms of trade and economic scale- "although it was not high before and ranged around three billion euros a year."
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