Serbia records drop in export of most important agrarian products in 2017 – Import grows by 15.4% on average

Last year, the export of all the most important Serbian agricultural products dropped compared to 2016, as shown by the final results of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.

The export of corn dropped by USD 72 million, that of cigarettes by USD 42 million, and the export of frozen raspberries dropped by USD 15 million. The year 2017 was not good for sugar producers either, as their exporting balance was worse by USD 35 million compared to a year before.

Nevertheless, despite the projections that the drought year would be fatal to Serbia exporters, statistics show that the export of agrarian and food products amounted to -USD 3.2 billion and that it was only 1% lower than in 2016. As analyst Vojislav Stankovic explains, the record-setting exports of early vegetables in the first half of the year, as well as of certain types of fruit and food products the producers exported to the EU and the neighboring countries the most, improved the end result.

The experts find it alarming, however, that the import of agricultural and food products rose by an average of 15.4% in a year. Although the trade of the Serbian agrarian sector with the world is still positive, the 2017 surplus was under 16%. The data is especially discouraging when it comes to local livestock breeding, but it is also discouraging to consumers, as the import of frozen pork meat increased by over 50%, and that of eggs and dairy products by a third.

This could have been predicted back in mid-2017, after the abolition of import taxes on pork, milk and dairy products, which Brussels insisted on. Since then, milk and dairy products from B&H, Slovenia and Croatia have become more frequent on the shelves of store chains, often available at dumping prices, Politika reports.

Republički zavod za statistiku

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