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This year's participation and attendance of twenty-two Serbian companies at the World Food Moscow Fair from the 15th to the 18th of September proved to be a major success. Serbian food exporters contracted over $8.5 million worth of sales and they are currently negotiating additional sales of goods worth over $16 million.

With support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, first time exhibitors at this year's World Food Fair accounted for more than half of the contracted sales. This opportunity has opened the door for greater success of Serbian agribusiness during the current economic crisis.

Showcased under the joint slogan Serbia Naturally, Serbian companies boasted a large selection of apples, meats and pates, organic jams and preserves, premium wild mushrooms, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as the famous Serbian raspberries, blackberries and wild strawberries and blueberries.

Eleven companies exhibiting their products at this years fair featured in Moscow this year were: Agroprom-Com, Lučić Prigrevica, ZZ Moravac, ITN, Repro Trade, PIK Južni Banat, Strela, Hemel, Neoplanta, Big Bull and LTS Farmer.

The recent global financial crisis has not deterred Serbian exporters in trying to reestablish their strong foothold in the international market and especially the Russian market which has traditionally generated considerable demand for Serbian products. 

The USAID Agribusiness team continuously works to increase Serbia’s agribusiness competitiveness through addressing issues and constraints that inhibit access to international markets. Barriers to entering international markets are consistently tackled through technical assistance addressing issues such as inappropriate packaging or branding, international food safety standards and certificates and through establishing international market linkages between international buyers and Serbian producers.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has invested $24 million through its Agribusiness Project which focuses on improving agricultural productivity, expanding value-added agricultural processing, opening new markets for export, and building the capacity of producer organizations and service providers which support Serbia’s agribusiness sector. The USAID Agribusiness Project works with Serbian agricultural producers at all stages of the production cycle “from field to fork” to increase the value of Serbian agricultural products sales and agricultural employment.

At the end of July, the USAID Agribusiness Project organized a seminar dedicated to presenting the vast potentials of the Halal Market and the certification process to Serbian food exporters.

The seminar drew a large number of Serbian exporters of primarily meat and dairy products, representatives of the Serbian Islamic Community, Ministry of Agriculture, media and representatives from the Embassy of Malaysia - amongst others.

USAID technical consultant, Dr. Cedomir Nestorovic - one of the world's leading experts in the field of Halal markets and a Professor at the Political Science Institute in Paris, carried out numerous consultations with individual Serbian companies and the Halal certification board of the Serbian Islamic Community. (Link to presentation)

During the seminar Mr. Nestorovic presented crucial information to Serbian exporters in regard to the actual Halal certification processes; the potentials as they relate to the various sectors (meat, dairy, confectionary etc); and the identification of target markets (France, Russia, USA, Malaysia etc).

The global Halal Market trade is worth over 650 billion dollars annually and draws a large number of companies world over. The Serbian food industry is rapidly recognizing the potential of this market and companies are looking into pursuing Halal certification which will provide them with an opportunity to access this market segment. To date approximately 40 Serbian companies have acquired Halal certificaton.

Mr. Nestorovic noted that the Serbian meat and dairy industry have the most potential that should be exploited by joining efforts and targeting Indonesian, certain Russian republics, the city of Moscow as well as the US, French and German Halal markets.

He also added that Serbia should use its political advantages for quicker access to some forty Islamic countries - members of the nonaligned movement - such as Egypt, Malaysia and Iraq.

"However, the process of certification is not without problems. Serbia currently has two certification processes, each with different standards and neither is recognized globally. It is of crucial importance that the process of Halal certification in Serbia be synergized with globally recognized bodies" notes Remer Lane, USAID Agribusiness Project's Sales and Marketing Director.

Remer Lane also added that, "Companies pursue Halal based on market opportunity. We will continue to work with companies with this certificate, especially in preparation of International Fairs such as the GULFOOD show in Dubai. We have now established strong collaboration with the Embassy of Malaysia in Belgrade and will work together on both the certification process as well as to establish strong market linkages for Serbian companies wishing to enter the Malaysian and other opportunistic markets."

Two articles on Serbian agribusiness published in key international media.

USAID Agribusiness Project has assisted Serbian agricultural producers in accessing new international markets since the Project's inception in 2007. Assistance has been focused on a number of aspects consisting of market research, building international marketing skills, effective presentation at international fairs, media communication and marketing, sales negotiations, capacity building, international certifications and standards with the over arching goal of achieving increased sales and employment by Serbian companies.

The USAID Agribusiness team continuously works to establish international market linkages between international buyers and Serbian producers and assists companies in negotiations, contracting, product delivery and follow-up.

To date, 103 client agribusiness firms have been assisted in attending 16 international and domestic fairs in 21 months. Through these activities firms have contracted sales in the amount $39.4M, and delivered $22.2M worth of goods – out of a potential $92M worth of sales opportunities generated with USAID's  assistance.

Promoting Serbian products through specialized international media is of tremendous importance in informing international buyers on the rapid and substantial developments within Serbia's agribusiness ; informing buyers on where to source Serbian goods and ultimately in building and strengthening the image and reputation of Serbian agribusinesses.

One such recent example of indirect promotion of the Serbian blueberry and mushroom sectors in two separate articles published in the July issue of Eurofruit magazine - one of Europe's leading fresh produce marketing magazines.

Article 1: Less bulk, more direct (Eurofruit Magazine, July 09 Issue)

Article 2: Serbia's Blue Move (Eurofruit Magazine, July 09 Issue)

Select Milk and the Kuč and Šabac Dairies were among the nine Serbian companies that participated in this annual event between June 28th and 30th.

This year, for the first time ever, Serbian cheeses were presented on the US Market at this prestigious event and boasted a rich selection of traditional cheeses such as Goat Cheese, Serbian Feta and Peppers in Cream. The first shipments are expected to start in late August.

Showcased under the joint slogan Serbia Naturally, were also Serbian organic jams and preserves, premium wild mushrooms, all-natural herbal teas and famous Serbian raspberries, blackberries and other fruit products which also proved to be winners. Foodland d.o.o., the winner of the Best New Fruit Juice in the World in 2008, successfully negotiated entry into 70 gourmet shops in New York City.

The nine Serbian companies featured in New York this year were: Agropartner, Pionir, Strela, Bilje Borča, Foodland, Igda Impex, Kuč Dairy, Šabac Dairy and Select Milk.

The recent global financial crisis and has not deterred Serbian exporters in trying to establish a strong foothold in the international market. USAID, through its Agribusiness Project in Serbia continues to support Serbian companies in their efforts to access foreign markets and establish regular exports.

Produced by The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) since 1955, the Fancy Food Shows are North America's largest specialty food and beverage marketplace. The shows boast 16,000 - 24,000 attendees; 250,000 products including confections, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural and organic; 1,300 - 2,500 exhibitors and 81 countries being represented.

LAGERMAX AED and USAID Agribusiness Project have joined efforts to develop consolidated shipment services with the aim of providing Serbian exporters with an affordable and reliable mode of transporting goods to international markets.

Experience has shown that often despite clearly expressed interest from international buyers for Serbian products companies were not able to deliver goods and truly establish themselves on the international market. Further research showed that a primary reason for this is high cost of shipping 'less than container load' (LTL) shipments. This rendered goods noncompetitive on the international market. It is often the case that small producers (ie. Gourmet food producers) need only a small portion of a standard shipping container in order to meet the demands of their buyer. Additionally, the inadequate handling of controlled regime goods such as dairy and fresh produce affected the quality and value of goods. As such, international buyers have been hesitant to purchase Serbian produce.

In order to address this export constraint, USAID Agribusiness Project partnered with Lagermax AED in an attempt to establish a consolidated export service which will transport regular and controlled regime goods from Serbia to the rest of the world at competitive costs, regardless of the size of the amount to be shipped.

Lagermax AED is now a unique company in the Serbian market, offering refrigerated regime consolidated shipment services which is crucial for expanding the export of fresh produce from Serbia. It is estimated that in the first year alone, and additional USD 16 million of Serbian exports will be achieved through the introduction of this service.

One of the principal components of the USAID Agribusiness Project is improving Agribusiness Development Services (ABDS). Agribusiness enterprise access to timely and effective ABDS is critical to improving decision-making, management, efficiency and competitiveness.

Lagermax AED d.o.o. is one the leading companies in the fields of international forwarding and logistics on the Serbian market. The company, aside from head office in Belgrade-Simanovci, also has branches in all regional centers: Novi Sad, Nis, Cacak and Paracin with distributional-logistical warehouses.

Photo 1: Mr. Zoran Zubac, Lagermax AED Director

Photo 2: Mr. Louis Faoro, USAID Agribusiness Project Chief of Party

Photos 3 and 4: Lagermax Facility