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Serbian companies will once again present their products in Dubai at the 14th Gulfood Trade Show held from February 23 - 26. This is the fifth time Serbia has enjoyed a national pavilion at Gulfood which brings together almost 3,000 companies form 72 countries and was visited by 39,000 people last year.

Serbian companies taking part at Gulfood this year are; Agroprom, Frigonais, Nase vreme, Prima Produkt, Selekt Milk, Soja Protein, Tempos and Revita. These companies will present a wide range of some of Serbia’s finest products including; Frozen Fruits, Canned Vegetables, Dairy Products, Fruit Purees, Jams and Marmalades, Soy Products, Cereals and Dietetic Products.

Organized since 1987, Gulfood is the region's largest and most important industry event of the year and a strategic platform for buyers and sellers to conduct direct business face to face. The exhibition is a showcase for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers from around the world, representing all of the key sectors within the food and hospitality trade.

The export of Serbian food products has experienced exponential growth in the last few years and there are no signs of slowing. The quick adoption and rapid implementation of international standards and the introduction of new value-added products has ensured that Serbia is establishing itself as one of the most trusted exporters in South Eastern Europe.

Serbia's delicacies will be waiting for you at the Sheikh Maktoum Hall, Stand M-A71, every day from 11:00 to 19:00 from the 23rd to the 26th of February.

The presentation of Serbian producers at Gulfood was made possible by The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia with the assistance of Serbia Investment & Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA), and the USAID Agribusiness Project. USAID’s 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.

On Tuesday, 24 February, Marilynn Schmidt, the USAID Deputy Mission Director officially launched the Women Entrepreneurs in Agribusiness Project. The main goal of this Project is to promote entrepreneurship among women living in rural parts of Serbia, encouraging them to take active participation in the improvement of their economic position and self-employment.

Marilynn Schmidt noted that "Engaging women in agriculture is of vital importance for Serbia’s development and will result in improved employment opportunities for women in rural areas, creating a basis for financial security, and raising the living standard of their families".

Women in rural parts of Serbia are very important for agricultural development and sustainability, but despite that fact, they have very little knowledge about the possibilities and benefits offered nowadays by agribusiness. The project entitled Women Entrepreneurs in Agribusiness will last six months and will be implemented in the period from February to July 2009.

The Project will be implemented in the form of workshops with the purpose of enabling women to get acquainted with different fields of entrepreneurship. Distinguished experts in the fields of agriculture, economy and social sciences, will work with unemployed women providing them with knowledge, skills and self-confidence needed to venture into agribusiness. Thus, the women will be acquainted with the basic rules of entrepreneurship, such as: designing their own business, preparing a business plan, registering company activity, etc. The workshops will also provide them with the information about the latest developments in different agricultural branches, such as cattle breeding, vegetable growing, fruit growing and so forth.

The workshops will take place in six municipalities throughout Serbia. The first workshop will be held in Valjevo and followed by the workshops in Bela Crkva, Kruševac, Novi Sad, Leskovac and Kopaonik.

One of the trainers will be Snezana Djordjevic, Ph. D, owner of AGROUNIK Company awarded the entrepreneur of the year prize. The Project Manager is Jasmina Nikitovic Stojicic, the editor of TV programme on agriculture Znanje imanje and certified FAO rural women trainer.

For further information on these activities, kindly contact Ivana Janicijevic, the USAID Agribusiness Project Youth Director: ivana_janicijevic@agrobiznis.net.

Sixteen agronomists from all over Serbia attended this one day training that covered some of the most important topics related to vegetalbe production and procesing;

• Preharvest
• Harvesting Systems
• Postharvest Physiology
• Postharvest Pathology
• Quality and Safety of Fresh Vegetables
• Postharvest Technology
• Cooling Systems

Prior to this event, four post harvest trainings  were held for the vegetable producers in Zablace, Begec, Despotovo and Gospodjinci.

Training was conducted by prof.Dr Zoran Ilic who specialized this specific topic in Post Harvest Institute in Israel.

From the 9th to the 12th of February 2009, Serbian rapsberry producers from Arilje will be presenting their produce to Russian buyers. PRODEXPO 2009 is the largest annual specialized food exhibition in Russia. Over the last 15 years, the exhibition space and the number of exhibiting companies have increased five - fold. In 2008, this event had 2,111 exhibitors of which 1,314 were from Russia and 797 from other 59 countries.

This year, Arilje raspberry producers through the Arilje Municipality Entrepreneurs Association, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the USAID Agribusiness project have joined forces in promoting Arilje raspberries, one of Serbia's most valued export commodities on the international market. 

Arilje Association is a non-profit, private association established in 1996 to facilitate business development and the entrepreneurship of its members. The association gathers producers from all industry sectors from the Arilje Municipality. The Association boasts 26 raspberry processors, employing 430 workers and 1,500 contract farmers.  In 2007, the Association branded the textile products from Arilje as “Arilje Textile”, and currently, the association is in procedure of obtaining protected geographic indication of origin and brand name for the raspberries from Arilje - “Arilje Raspberry”.

The export of Serbian fresh produce has experienced exponential growth in the last couple of years. The quick adoption of the latest harvesting and post harvest techniques, rapid implementation of GlobalGAP, ISO and Organic certification and the introduction of new varieties suitable for the fresh market has ensured that Serbia establishes itself as one of the most trusted exporters in South Eastern Europe.

USAID’s 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. Since the inception of the USAID Agribusiness Project various activities have been carried out with the aim of ensuring consistent growth in productivity and exports of Serbian berry fruit. These activities range from assistance aimed at introducing new berry fruit varieties in order to improve yields, resistance to disease and extend shelf life to activities which target improvements in the consolidation processes, introduction of new technologies and training programs to improve producers' marketing and sales skills and capacities.

On 28 January 2009, a Conference entitled 'Warehouse Receipts System for Agricultural products' took place in Belgrade at the Hotel Hyatt. The Conference was organized by the Republic of Serbia Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the USAID Agribusiness Project with the participation form the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has prepared a Draft Law on Public Warehouses for Agricultural Products that incorporates all internationally recognized and proven principles of commodity-based financing, taking into consideration all the specifics of the Serbian legal and agricultural products market systems.

The Draft Law has been accepted by the Government of Serbia on September 11, 2008 and is now pending adoption by the Serbian Parliament. The Law on Public Warehouses for Agricultural Products represents an important part of market-oriented development activities that aim to introduce a new market infrastructure  for agricultural commodities in Serbia.

Through our Agribusiness Project, we have and will continue to carry out activities to complement the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. In addition, we will also continue providing technical and financial assistance to Serbian producers, agricultural cooperatives and associations to help them improve productivity, expand value-added agricultural processing, remove export constraints, acquire necessary certification and standards and access new markets globally.  (Michael Harvey, USAID Mission Director)

The main objectives of the conferences were to present Serbia’s Warehouse Receipt legislation, related programs, international experience in Warehouse Receipt System development in the region and the main features of the future Warehouse Receipt System in Serbia. This opportunity was also used to introduce the major structural components needed for the implementation of the Warehouse Receipts System in Serbia and the relevant international experience of financial institutions involved in commodity based financing.

The conference provided an opportunity for relevant representatives of government regulatory institutions, public warehouse operators, financial and banking sector, producers, processors and traders to become acquainted with the Warehouse Receipt System to be established in Serbia.

The USAID Agribusiness Project is currently working with the Ministry on the development of relevant by-laws that will enable structuring of an efficient Warehouse Receipts System upon the adoption of the Law by the Serbian Parliament. Subsequent assistance to be provided will focus on assisting the Ministry, relevant institutions and regulatory bodies with the implementation of the Law. 

AN EFFICIENT WAREHOUSE RECEIPT SYSTEM SHOULD PROVIDE

• Uniform and well regulated system of commodity storage.

• Protection of depositors, ensuring the quality and quantity of deposited commodities.

• A foundation for the use of warehouse receipts, which are treated as official certificates of ownership over commodities and can be used for obtaining short-term loans.

• Improvement of whole market infrastructure of agricultural products

• Encourages foreign investments.

• A necessary foundation for the development of financial derivatives market.