Among tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia, only about 500 manage to export goods worth more than four million euros annually, according to data from the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES).
This information is based on financial reports for the year 2022 for companies with more than five but fewer than 250 employees, encompassing micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, as reported by Biznis.rs.
In 2023, the domestic economy exported goods and services totaling 28.6 billion euros, while in 2022, this figure was one billion euros less.
Nemanja Šormaz, the director of CEVES, highlighted in an interview with Biznis.rs that Serbia performs well in terms of the share of exporters among companies with more than 10 employees, which was used as a criterion for comparing results with European standards.
“Every other company with more than 10 employees in Serbia exports, and in some sectors such as machinery and equipment manufacturing, this share goes up to 80 percent,” noted Šormaz.
He added that the real problem lies in the intensity of exports, or the share of revenue generated from foreign markets.
“Our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generally generate modest revenues, with a low share of exports, resulting in only about 500 of them achieving exports of finished products worth more than four million euros in 2022, or about 700 if we include services,” said Šormaz.
He emphasized that the main obstacles to export growth in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector are underinvestment and a lack of workforce, with the key issue being the investment environment.
“We are the only country in Europe where large enterprises are ‘treated’ to a tax credit, but not small ones,” he said, adding that in other countries, tax credits are available to either all or only smaller enterprises.
The result of such a policy is evident, as Šormaz pointed out, “on the ground.”
“Investments by SMEs in the EU reach 11 percent of GDP, while in Serbia, this share is twice as low. The capacity of these enterprises and their ability to penetrate the market depend on these investments. Additionally, CEVES research has shown that owners and directors of SMEs cite the inability to find suitable workers as a key response to the question of possibilities for significantly expanding production,” emphasized the director of CEVES.
He added that existing and potential exporters would benefit from having access to additional products from the portfolio of the Export Credit and Insurance Agency (AOFI), such as long-term export insurance.
