Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Snezana Bogosavljevic-Boskovic said that the exports of agricultural and food products increased to EUR 2.1 billion in the first 11 months of 2014.
“We have secured a surplus of some EUR 1 billion in the agricultural and food trade, which is a rise of 23 percent compared to 2013,” the minister told Belgrade-based TV Pink on Sunday.
The impact on economy would have been considerably more positive if the exported goods included more meat, milk, and meat and dairy products, she said.
“For that reason, the government of Serbia and the Ministry of Agriculture intend to provide stronger incentives for the cattle farming in the coming period,” Bogosavljevic-Boskovic stressed.
The minister recalled that the European Commission allocated a budget of EUR 175 million for the rural development program in Serbia for the next six years, noting that Serbian farmers will be able to apply for the funding for their individual projects.
“Cattle farming, milk and meat production, and building processing capacities will be the priorities,” she added.
Bogosavljevic-Boskovic said that the competitiveness of Serbian agricultural products in the international market should be increased and invited foreign companies to invest in Serbia.
We need to further improve the production process and the quality of Serbian agricultural products, and foreign investments will certainly be beneficial in that sense, the minister said.
Source; in News
