The complete trade liberalization will bring foreign competition that not all agricultural producers from Serbia will be able to endure, Serbian Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Trade Milos Milovanovic said on Friday.
At the promotion of the 19th edition of the journal “Challenges of European Integration”, he said that the competitiveness of Serbian producers will be the greatest challenge in Serbia’s EU and world integration.
Milovanovic said that certain producers who have not yet reached the required level of competitiveness should work on that, while a significant number of farms are in need of alternative.
They may find an alternative in the organic farming, products with protected geographical indication, and rural tourism, that is some economic activities in rural areas which might not be directly linked to agricultural production.
“The trade liberalization will mean that we will have to increase competitiveness, reduce the costs, improve quality and harmonize the process of production, processing with conditions in the international markets,” Milovanovic underlined.
Milovanovic recalled that more than 50 percent of Serbia’s total food exports go to the EU market which makes it our most reliable partner, while 41 percent go to CEFTA.
He said that agriculture, as a primary sector, accounts for more than 10 percent of Serbia’s GDP, and the entire agribusiness with accompanying fields for at least one-third of GDP.
