Serbian poultry industry delegation visits the Netherlands
International trade news; harvest projections; lack of trees affecting citizen health; the profitability of retail trade - Our weekly briefing on agriculture, food and nature news in Serbia
Serbian poultry industry visited the Netherlands
At the beginning of this week, a poultry industry delegation from Serbia visited the Netherlands. During the three day visit, poultry professionals from Serbia had the opportunity to learn about the Dutch experience and practice in the poultry sector. The delegation consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, twelve companies representing the Serbian Poultry Association (Zajednica živinara Srbije) and the Poultry Business Forum Serbia.
During a visit to the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Hague, the delegation exchanged experience and ideas with the Dutch CVO Wim Pelgrim and representatives of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) with a focus on improving production standards, animal health and animal welfare in poultry farming.
In the following days, the Serbian delegation visited the Poultry Expertise Centre in Barneveld, VDL Jansen, Trouw Nutrition, Royal GD, Vencomatic Group and the Schippers Group as well as their demonstration farm in Hapert. The delegation also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Menno de Gruijter from AVINED to discuss ways to organize poultry industry in an association.
The mission followed an initial visit of the Dutch companies to the Serbian Poultry Business Forum in the fall of 2023 and represents a an important step towards strengthening cooperation between the Dutch and Serbian poultry professionals aimed at making the sector more sustainable and increasing animal welfare standards.
CEFTA remains Serbia's most important trade partner after the EU
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) continues to be one of the most significant trade partners for its members, including for Serbia. The importance of cooperation is highlighted by the fact that in 2022, the total trade within this free trade agreement in Southeast Europe, encompassing goods and services, surpassed €12 billion, according to Danijela Gacevic, acting director of the CEFTA Secretariat. "The total trade in goods has increased by 146 percent over the last decade," she told the Beta news agency.
Gacevic emphasized that statistical data shows that in 2022, the export of all parties within CEFTA amounted to €8.4 billion, 27% more than in 2021, when it was €6.6 billion. "Exports to CEFTA accounted for 15.4% of Serbia's total exports last year, making it its largest export market after the EU, where Serbia places 63.2 percent of its total exports. For Serbia, CEFTA is becoming a key export market, surpassing exports to countries like Germany. In 2022, exports to CEFTA were 28 percent higher than exports to Germany, reaching over EUR 4 billion," stated Gacevic.
Besides merchandise trade, CEFTA is becoming increasingly important for services, especially for the IT sector, tourism, and transportation for all members, including Serbia. She specified that Serbia's service exports within CEFTA in 2022 amounted to €998 million, with an increase of 63% compared to 2017 and 114% compared to 2012.
At least 1.3 million tons of wheat surplus this year
Serbia is currently in possession of 2.42 million tons of wheat. At the end of this year's season (June 30) after the contracted quantities are exported and domestic needs are met, it is expected that Serbia will have a record surplus of 1.3 to 1.8 million tons, stated Sunčcca Savovic, Director of Grain Association of Serbia.
She explained to BETA news agency that exports could reach an additional 450,000 to 500,000 tons (from March to June), with monthly domestic consumption between 150,000 and 160,000 tons. "This is the third year that carry-over stocks are high due to a series of factors, including the decision to ban exports in 2022. Last year, carry-over stocks were 1.2 million tons, and this year, assuming that the maximum possible quantity is exported, carry-over stocks are expected to be between 1.3 million and 1.8 million tons by June 30," Savovic explained.
She added that there is demand, but the export prices of competing countries in the Black Sea region (Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Russia) are below the production costs of Serbian wheat. Additionally, wheat quality decreases rapidly over time due to improper storage. According to Savovic, exceptional quality cannot be expected this year either, as farmers have "cut back" on use of mineral fertilizer. Also due to the mild winter, the wheat suffered from the same diseases as the year before.
Sunoco plans to cultivate sugar beet on 32,500 hectares
Sunoco, a member of MK Group, announced that sugar beet will be planted on approximately 32,500 hectares this year. A yield of about 1.8 million tons is expected. As stated on the SUNOCO website , the company has provided its partners, sugar beet farmers, with high-quality planting material and financial support for the start of production amounting to 600 EUR per hectare. It was specified that this year's sugar beet price is €47 per ton for digestion of 16%, with a bonus for seeds amounting to €2 per ton and a bonus for farmers whose beet has above-average sugar content. "Trends indicate that sugar beet will once again be the most profitable crop in agriculture this year. “
Sunoko and its Research and Development Center will, as before, provide full support to farmers in achieving higher yields and better quality sugar beet. Our plan for this year is to produce 290,000 tons of sugar," stated Slobodan Kosutic, CEO of Sunoko. According to him, this amount will fully meet domestic needs and will have quantities to be exported. "Our strategic plans and sales growth are focused on increasing the export of Sunoko sugar to the European Union and regional markets. Serbia has great potential in sugar production, and we should use this opportunity for a larger placement on the European continent," Kosutic was quoted at the company’s site.
Serbia lacks 200 million trees for a healthier population
According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Directorate around 40% of Serbia’s territory is covered by forests, but in order to preserve human health and biodiversity and mitigate climate change, it is necessary to increase this level of forestation, stated National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED).
Serbia is short of 10,000 square kilometers of forests, or 200 million trees, conveyed NALED and the Green Development Center at the occasion of World Forest Day. The two organizations also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aiming to connect the civil and private sectors and spread the vision of a sustainable and responsible community. Their joint efforts will focus on implementing specific actions such as "Plant Your Shade" and "Let's do it! Serbia – World Cleanup Day," which includes removing illegal dumpsites and spreading awareness about proper waste management. "We are marking the first five years of the Plant Your Shade action, where we have planted around 120,000 small saplings in over 100 cities in Serbia and more than 800 pieces of mature trees in our city parks," stated Predrag Ratic, team leader of the Plant Your Shade action.
Slobodan Krstovic, NALED's Director for Sustainable Development, highlighted that the European Union aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and plant three billion tree saplings by 2050 to become climate-neutral. Sweden has the most forests in Europe, with 28 million hectares, followed by Finland, with 22 million hectares, and Spain, with 18 million hectares. Montenegro and Slovenia have the region's highest percentage of forest coverage, with two-thirds of their territories covered in greenery, ranking them among the most forested countries in Europe.
Serbian retailers' average gross margin nearly 15%
An investigation into the revenue from the sale of food products in domestic trade has revealed that the average gross margin in retail food stores was 14.9% last year. The top 20 participants in the retail sector had an average gross margin of 34.8% for butter, 26.9% for sour milk, 20.8% for ground coffee, 12.9% for sterilized milk, while for fresh pork and chicken meat (whole chicken), the "top 20" group achieved margins of -5.1% and -0.5%, respectively.
The Statistical Office of Serbia conducted the Survey on Revenues from the Sale of Food Products in Domestic Trade and the Survey on the Structure of Revenues from the Sale of Food Industry Products from June 1 to November 1, 2023, for the Government of Serbia. The top 20 companies in the retail sector (Leading 20) accounted for about 83% of the total turnover of food products, with just the first three entities holding a share of 48.9%. The average gross margin rate (for all products) among the Leading 20 group was 14.6%, with the highest average margin being 23.8% and the lowest at 5.1%. In the group of “Other” retailers, the average margin was slightly higher, at 16.9%.
Milun Trivunac, Advisor to the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that this margin is consistent across both large and smaller retailers. "There are no significant deviations in the average retail prices among the retail chains, indicating that the rise in retail prices is primarily driven by high production and supply chain costs," he said.