Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić and the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Željko Sertić met today with the representatives of the “Fruits of Serbia” Association. They talked about the opportunities for increasing the exports of fruits and vegetables from Serbia to the Russian market, after the Government of the Russian Federation introduced a one-year ban on imports of certain agricultural products from the EU.
On this occasion, the representatives of the “Fruits of Serbia” Association were informed that a coordination center was established to provide assistance for Serbian companies when exporting agricultural products to Russia. The center will operate as part of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and it will include the representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and the Customs Administration.
The aforementioned coordination center will be made available to exporters 24 hours a day, and they will be in continuous communication with the trade representatives of the Russian Federation in Serbia, in order for all misunderstandings and problems with exports to the Russian market to be immediately resolved.
The representatives of the Customs Administration and the Directorate of Plant Protection, who attended the meeting, pointed out that in the upcoming period the control of Serbian fruit and vegetables, which go to the Russian market will be increased, but also the control of imports into Serbia from the EU and other countries, in order to prevent possible abuse, especially re-export.
The representatives of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, who were also present, stressed that the quality of fruits and vegetables imported from Serbia to the Russian market is good, and expressed hopes that in the future, all the prescribed standards will be fulfilled in order to facilitate an increasing and undisturbed import of the above-mentioned products from Serbia.
It was agreed that a list of all businesses that are caught in attempts of illegal export to Russia will be published. Ljajić and Sertić will continue discussions with local exporters, and they have expressed the willingness of the state to further encourage participation in the upcoming autumn fairs in Moscow – “World food” and “Golden Autumn”.
