Serbia is reporting a surplus in its agricultural and food product exports, bolstered by recent trade agreements with China and Egypt. The free trade agreement with China, effective July 1, allows duty-free exports of fresh fruits, vegetables, pharmaceutical products, and items from the chemical and machinery sectors. Additionally, the agreement signed with Egypt on July 13 permits duty-free export of about 10,400 Serbian products.
Slobodan Aćimović, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Belgrade, highlights the significant potential of these agreements. “The key now is to effectively operationalize these opportunities,” Aćimović states. “We must ensure that our agricultural and food companies do not falter due to insufficient market research budgets. The state should adopt a strategic approach, treating China and Egypt as key markets, and focus on analyzing their business environments and market needs.”
Aćimović emphasizes the need for a detailed analysis of the tariff reductions specified in these agreements. “For example, Serbian wine won’t be immediately exempt from tariffs in China; instead, tariffs will gradually decrease by 20 percent annually over the next five years. We need a clear timeline and strategy for which products to export, as well as to develop industry clusters. Establishing a new agency dedicated to market research, staffed by young professionals adept at online research, could be beneficial,” he explains.
Regarding Serbia’s competitiveness in the food sector, Aćimović believes that the removal of tariffs enhances Serbia’s position. “Previously, high tariffs on imported wine in China made us uncompetitive. Now, we have the opportunity to export our grain to Egypt. However, we must address the effectiveness and organization of our logistics sector to realize this potential. Collaborations among logistics companies and exploration of new transport routes could help improve our export capabilities,” Aćimović advises.
