Serbia's organic product exports see massive rise in past decade

BELGRADE - The value of Serbia's organic product exports has risen by over 15 times over the past decade, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) said on Wednesday. Last year, the exports were up by 53 pct y-o-y, totalling 57.4 mln euros, it said in a statement.

"As a producer of organic products, Serbia has been present in the global market for over 20 years now and, during that time, all indicators have been showing quick and stable development," the PKS's Bojana Lalovic said.

Serbia currently has over 7,000 producers of organic products and many of them regularly exhibit at international fairs. Lalovic said Serbia has been present at Nuremberg's BioFach fair for over a decade.

Taking over from Serbia Organica in 2019, the PKS and the Development Agency of Serbia have since been organising the appearances of Serbian companies at the German trade show and providing financial support.

Cooperation with the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), which has been collaborating actively with the PKS since 2019 on boosting the capacities of service organisers and exporters, has also contributed to the success of Serbian companies at the fair.

Lalovic said 11 Serbian companies would be exhibiting at BioFach 2023 next February. Under the slogan of We Speak Organic, the companies will showcase products such as fresh, dried, lyophilised and frozen fruit and vegetables, products from organic grains, flour and pasta, organic fruit jams, honey and dried mushrooms.