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The Business Base Fair took place between the 27th and the 29th of November at the Belgrade Fair Grounds. This annual event funded by the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium- sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurship, with this year's slogan "A step to Success" aims to increase the competitiveness of SMEs; assist in faster application of new technologies and innovation; speed up SME Certification and Standardization processes; develop youth and women entrepreneurship and foster exports.

The USAID Agribusiness Project in collaboration with the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium- sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurship launched the Guide to Agribusiness Financing. This publication aims to provide a comprehensive guide to sources of financing available to producers, producer organizations, associations and cooperatives. It provides a guide to the necessary registrations and legal procedures, Government of Serbia subsidies, development assistance funding and commercial financing. This publication will be distributed by the USAID Agribusiness Project to its wide network of partners; producers and producer organizations; agricultural cooperatives and associations.

A considerable number of SMEs were present at the Fair, as well as numerous large public sector enterprises, regional centers, national agencies and ministries, regional chambers of commerce, entrepreneur associations, public institutions, representatives of the various local governments, international and bilateral development agencies, banks and leasing companies and institutes and scientific - research centers.

The event boasted a rich accompanying program which featured educational programs, seminars and workshops designed to bring the visitors and exhibitors up to date on current business issues and events as well as to coach them on business start-up and business development.

For any further information, kindly contact Mr. Nenad Popadic, USAID Agribusiness Project Financial Advisor at; +381 11 243 66 11 or by E Mail: nenad_popadic@agrobiznis.net

To download the Guide in Serbian, follow this link: Guide to Agribusiness Financing

The event, which took place between 19th and 23rd of October, was financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, organized by SIEPA with the USAID Agribusiness Project providing technical support and assisting companies in establishing contacts and in conducting negotiations during and after the event.   

As a showcase for innovation and a truly global business platform, SIAL is the world's leading food industry show. Over 140,000 visitors and 5,300 exhibitors take part in this event for food industry professionals: food manufacturers, distributors, importers, retailers and wholesalers, to name a few.

The twelve Serbian companies that took part at the SIAL Fair this year were Elixir, ITN, Prima Produkt, Agrograf, Agranela, MMS Kompani, Jugprom, Pionir, Strela, Foodland and IGDA Impex.

Buyers were predominately interested in packaged mushrooms, frozen fruits and processed foods such as Serbian Ajvar. One of the companies that took part reported over 170 contacts with international buyers and that they expect to export goods in the amount to $500,000 by the end of 2009.

Following the SIAL Fair, the Agribusiness Project received inquiries for supply from numerous international buyers which has resulted in $2,000,0000 in immediate new sales; $500,000 in the contracting stage and $1,250,000 in final negotiations stage.

For further information on International Fairs and related activities, kinldy contact Ms. Tatjana Mrvaljevic.

Serbian Association of Agriculture Journalists celebrated its fourth anniversary. Traditionally, an Honorary Member is named each year on this occasion and Ms. Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Serbia Deputy Mission Director became the 2009 AGROPRESS Honorary Member. Last year, this honor was held by His Excellency, the Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Tadashi Nagai.

On 20 November 2008, AGROPRESS - Serbian Association of Agriculture Journalists celebrated its fourth anniversary. Traditionally, an Honorary Member is named each year on this occasion and Ms. Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Serbia Deputy Mission Director became the 2009 AGROPRESS Honorary Member. Last year, this honor was held by His Excellency, the Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Tadashi Nagai.

During her acceptance speech, Ms Schmidt emphasized the importance of Agriculture, " Strong agricultural growth has been an important factor in all countries that have successfully reduced poverty. In recent years, Agriculture has come to the forefront of the international development agenda".

Ms. Schmidt was also asked to hand over the AGROPRESS prizes to best young journalists in the sphere of Agriculture and during her address she stated that
"journalists and the media also have a crucial role to play in not only affecting policy agendas and bringing important issues to light, but also in shaping opinions, creating awareness, making information available on best practices, new technologies, and providing praise for those individuals and companies that can serve as models for the rest of society".

Mr. Milos Milovanovic, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture Forestry Engineering and Water Management also addressed the guests and in his speech, he expressed his support for the AGROPRESS initiative aimed at quickening the pace of legislative reforms needed in the Agriculture sector. Mr. Milovanovic also expressed his gratitude to the USAID Agribusiness Project for providing support to AGROPRESS.

AGROPRESS is a non-governmental organization whose main goal is to revive and promote life in rural areas and to promote the work of the journalists reporting on agriculture and food industry. The Association has been a member of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) since 2006. In cooperation with the USAID Agribusiness Project, as of 2009, AGROPRESS will be involved in the implementation of the Women Entrepreneurs in Agriculture Project.

During the mission, the delegation visited a number of input providers, producers and potential buyers that supply major U.K. retail chains as well as the most relevant terminal markets in the UK. This resulted in an initial purchase of 275,000 raspberry cane varieties suitable for the fresh market such as Polka, Tulameen and Glen Ample. During the visit, one of the participating Serbian companies singed a Letter of Understanding with a UK investor for financing the expansion of their processing facility in Serbia. In addition, the mission participants had an opportunity to see the latest technologies employed in the industry and to learn about market requirements they will have to meet in order to establish themselves as regular suppliers of the U.K. market.

This initiative was developed with the aim to address major constraints to the development of an export market for Serbian fresh berries. Some of the identified constraints are the lack of appropriate planting materials needed to establish adequate production, lack of cooperation with international partners and the lack of knowledge about new production technologies needed to extend the production season in this important agricultural sector. Although berry fruits are one of Serbia's top export commodities, clearly there is still a tremendous amount of untapped potential - especially in exporting fresh berries.

In cooperation with Fruits & Vegetables Association of Serbia and Ministry of Agriculture, the USAID Agribusiness Project initially organized a preparatory training for the participants of the Trade Mission to the UK. Amongst others, issues pertaining to relevant legislation and procedures for berry fruit planting material import and information relating to the U.K. fresh fruit market needs and trends were included in the training.

The USAID Agribusiness Project will continue to provide technical assistance and advisory services to the sector by engaging experts who will enable production and post-harvest expertise transfer to Serbian producers as well as by developing a guide for plant breeders and importers of planting material. This initiative is a follow-up to earlier activities targeting local berry producers and processors; trainings on production of berries for the fresh market delivered by US-based consultant Rick Dale and presentations of raspberry varieties suitable for the fresh market, conducted by Mr. Jamie Petchell, representative of Hargreaves Plants.

For further information regarding the Berry Sector activities, kindly contact Mr. Sasa Marusic, Berry Fruit Sector Lead.

This training was attended by over 35 fruit growers and processors, input suppliers and service providers from various parts of Serbia, such as Arilje, Osecina, Sabac, Kosjeric, Belgrade and Azanja. This was the second training jointly organized by AtleCoop Association and the USAID Agribusiness Project in a series of trainings targeting berry fruit growers and small scale processors transitioning from frozen to fresh markets.

The aim of the training was to introduce the producers and processors to the berry fruit varieties most suitable for fresh market, season extension techniques, harvest and post-harvest techniques and technologies. Time was also dedicated to issues such as GlobalGAP certification requirements, organic fertilizer use and to an exchange of pioneer experiences in exporting fresh berries from Serbia. AtleCoop members agreed to jointly procure planting material needed for establishing 4ha of new raspberry fields. The association members are determined to strengthen their cooperation and advance towards the fresh berry fruit market.

For further information regarding the Berry Sector activities, kindly contact Mr. Sasa Marusic, Berry Fruit Sector Lead.