Serbia, chance for trade with China lays in powerful food industry

Published on 13. May 2023., News

Customs duties on 90 percent of Serbian products that will be exported to China will be abolished, writes Bloomberg Adria. These are the standards of the World Trade Organization when trade agreements are signed.

Tomislav Momirović, Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade, in an interview with Bloomberg Adria, said that “we will do our best to sign a free trade agreement with China this year and to open space for Serbian companies for a new type of business in that country next year”.

As he said, apart from apples, frozen fruit, wheat and corn, Serbia has a chance to offer all kinds of products because European products have a good reputation in China. He adds that we cannot compete in mass production with China and that we should not focus on that.

“Our companies have yet to realize what opportunity is opening up for them. Serbia has a powerful food industry and wine industry that has been growing significantly in recent years. This is where our chance lies. This is not a story that will bring short-term results. The real results will come in four or five years as which was the case with the Stabilization and Association Agreement. We have to orient ourselves towards sophisticated high-quality products, which they normally buy in Europe,” explains Momirović

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