Coordinating Center for exports to Russia

Coordinating Center for exports to Russia

The coordinating center will be available to exporters around the clock and will be in constant contact with the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in Serbia to make sure any misunderstandings or issues concerning exports to the Russian market are immediately resolved, the PKS said.

The center will be comprised of officials of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communications, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and the Customs Administration, said the release.

Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić and PKS President Željko Sertić met with representatives of the Fruits of Serbia (Plodovi Srbije) association on Monday to discuss opportunities for increasing exports of fruits and vegetables to Russia after a decision of the government in Moscow to introduce a one-year ban on imports of certain agricultural products from EU countries.

Officials of the Customs Administration and the Plant Protection Directorate said that Serbia's fruit and vegetables bound for the Russian market, and also imports from the EU and other countries to the Serbian market, would start being more strictly controlled in the coming period to prevent possible abuses, particularly re-exports, the PKS said.

According to Sertic, dozens of companies in the EU are attempting to make contacts through Serbia and re-export goods.

“No machinations by the importing lobby or anybody else will be allowed and Minister Ljajić was very clear and precise here, and we have given him full support through some of the activities that we will be carrying out as a chamber body,” said the PKS president.

"We have a large number of companies performing good and quality work in cooperation with Russia, and we will certainly not allow a minority to damage by speculative activities the reputation of Serbia as good exporter,” Sertić said.

Representatives of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Serbia have said that the quality of fruit and vegetables reaching the Russian market from Serbia was good, expressing the expectation that their standards would continue being met in the future, as that would facilitate and even increase the agricultural imports from Serbia.

It was agreed during the meeting on Monday that lists of all businesses found to have attempted illegal exports to Russia should be made public every month.

Ljajić and Sertić told the Serbian exporters that the government was ready to further support their participation in the World Food and Golden Autumn agricultural fairs in Moscow in the fall.