Pig Sector Challenges in Serbia

The appearance of African Swine Fever (ASF) has been confirmed in ten countries in Europe. Neighboring countries of Serbia, including Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, are dealing with recently identified or long-ongoing outbreaks of ASF (source OIE), so it was to be expected that ASF would be detected in Serbia as well. Last Friday, four positive cases have been confirmed in animals at three backyard farms in the village of Aleksandrvac in Eastern Serbia. There are no large-sized or commercial pig farms in the area. The State Veterinary authorities have declared the village to be an infected area within a radius of 3 km, and proclaimed the surrounding territory an endangered area within a radius of 10 km. All measures are being taken in order to prevent the spreading of the disease. (More available here in Serbian) This recent outbreak of ASF will put more pressure on the already struggling Serbian pig sector.  

Pig farming in Serbia

The main characteristic of the Serbian pig sector is its fragmentation. Small scale farmers are predominant in the livestock production. According to surveillance conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2018, the number of pig farms decreased by 10% and the number of animals dropped by 4% compared to the agricultural census done in 2012. There are 320 thousand registered households involved in pig farming which accounts for 57% of all registered farms and they hold 3.3 million pigs. The majority are small households/family farms but also, there are more than two thousand commercial farms. The average number of pigs per farm is 10.2 and the average farm size is 5.4 ha (source: Green Book, MoA).

According to the database of the Veterinary Directorate of Serbia, the number of commercial farms operating in the pig sector is 2.037. The table below shows the number of animals per farm. (source: Sector analyses)

Number of animals per farm

Number of animals	Number of farms
1-49	69
50-99	134
100-199	426
200-299	268
300-499	298
500-999	179
1 000 - 2 999	117
3 000 - 4 999	27
5 000 - 6 999	10
7 000 - 9 999	11
10 000 - 14 999	21
15 000 - 19 999	12
20 000 - 49 999	21
50 000 +	2
Not inhabited	442

The size difference between the average farm in the north part (19.1 animal) and in the south part (7 animals) of the county is significant. Majority of commercial and professional pig farms are located in the northern part of the country.

Number of pigs in Serbia (thousand)

	Piglets, (weight -20kg)	Pigs (weight 20-49kg	Fattening pigs (weight 50-79kg)	Fattening pigs (weight 80-109kg)	Fattening pigs (weight 110kg+)	Breeding pigs - gilts	Breeding pigs - mated gilts	Breeding pigs - sows	Breeding pigs - mated sows	Breeding pigs - Boars	Pigs - total	Out of total: Fattened pigs
2017	945	579	352	305	259	101	20	350	157	20	2911	1301
2018	917	549	325	268	257	103	28	343	154	21	2782	1305
2019	965	544	337	266	283	92	23	350	171	25	2903	1382

Financial support

The Serbian Ministry of Agriculture considers pig meat production to be a priority sector and thus allocates finances for direct payments from the national budget (support for the increase of number of animals; pure breed animals; investments in equipment; support to the feed production etc). Besides the national support there are possibilities to apply for EU funds for rural development (support in the form of re-fund up to 70%). Depending on the type of investment this support can range from 700.000 EUR to 2 million EUR.

Two years ago, the Serbian Government signed a special memorandum of understanding with German meat producer Tönnies in order to start pig production in Serbia. Foreign investments in this sector receive state subsidies per employee. The MoU with Tönnies is still not yet implemented.

Consumption and trade

Pig farming is the second most important branch of livestock husbandry in Serbia by value of production. The level of consumption of pork is very high and it ranks first with 55-60% of the total meat consumption. In 2019, the total pig meat consumption was 377 thousand tons or 54kg/person. 

There is a demand for the increase of local production, however, it has difficulties with competitiveness. Despite the financial support, challenges remain in the improvement of farm management; need to increase in farm size; necessary improvement of genetics and housing for pigs; meat quality standards etc. Overall, Serbia is a net importing country of live pigs and pig meat.

Classical Swine Fever: Serbia has been struggling with classical swine fever for years. On December 15, 2019, Serbia has stopped vaccination against Classical Swine Fever (CSF). This vaccination was a an obstacle for the export and/or transit of fresh pig meat to the EU market. The state has prepared contingency plans in the case of the outbreak but if there will be no case of CSF in the next two years, country will be declared free from CSF and consequently will be able to export/transit via the EU.   For the time being, Serbia can export only thermally processed meat.

The import of pork increased in the last couple of years. The total production of pig meat in 2018 was 344 thousand tons and an additional 56 thousand tons were imported. Imported meat is mostly used in the meat processing industry and the production of final products.

Recent developments in the pig sector in Europe resulted in the drop of prices of pork meat. This will stimulate trade flow towards Serbia, putting additional pressure on local production and pig prices. (Prices of pork in Serbia can be found here.)

Approximate balance of pork meat

Category	Unit	2018	2019	Prognosis: 2020
Gross domestic production	tons	344 200	325 002	320 000
Import - Live animal	tons	11 309	4 422	3 500
Export - Live animals	tons	598	537	100
Net domestic production	tons	344 911	328 887	323 400
Import of meat	tons	56 090	66 017	25 000
Export of meat	tons	19 688	18 041	1 000
Domestic consumption	tons	381 313	376 863	347 400