Italians share experiences with agriculturists from Serbia – Serbian market interesting for investments, mechanization needs to be modernized

Source: eKapija Tuesday, 28.05.2019. 11:10
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(Photo: Dragana Obradović)
That Serbia is a country of agriculturists was shown recently once again by the gathering of agrarians in Novi Sad, where the International Agricultural Fair brought together nearly 1,600 exhibitors from 60 countries of the world. During the seven days of this event, 140,000 visitors passed through the Novi Sad Fair, and the biggest result was made in the sale of mechanization, amounting to as much as EUR 20 million.

The partner country of this year's International Agricultural Fair was Italy, and Italian companies were consequently interested in taking part in the fair as never before. Within the collective exhibit organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), 28 companies from the agrarian sector, but also two centers for promotion from Italy, presented their products and services.

The conclusion is unanimous – Serbia is a very attractive market for investments.

GB Ricambi, which produces and sells spare parts for tractors and other agricultural machines, participated in the Novi Sad fair for the second time.

– We do not have a direct representation in your country, but we already cooperate with some clients. During the fair, we established some new contacts, so I hope we will get some new clients too. Serbia is a potentially interesting market for us, but the situation is quite different than in Italy. This primarily pertains to the obsolete technology still used here – Ivan Dunjak of GB Ricambi said for eKapija and added that the fair in Novi Sad had also been an opportunity for them to meet potential clients from other countries of the region.

Davide Turretti of Agriexport, another producer of components for agricultural machines, agrees.

– Equipment in Serbia is not yet modernized enough. Obsolete mechanization is used, so getting components can be a problem. Still, this is an agricultural country, so the situation regarding the modernization is slowly changing as well. At the moment, we have one representative for the Serbian market, and since this region is very interesting to us, we hope to expand the operations in your country in the future – said Davide Turretti of Agriexport, a company which has been present in the Italian market for 30 years now.

Umberto De Vincenzo (Photo: Jelena Gajinov)Umberto De Vincenzo
The company R&G Impianti, which produces equipment for the processing of fruit and vegetables after harvesting, also presented itself to the visitors of the Novi Sad fair.

– We follow our clients from the very beginning – we prepare the project, and then make the devices and the equipment in line with the client's request. We are primarily focused on vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions, but we also make equipment for the processing of other kinds of vegetables. It's important to note that we adapt to our clients, which means that we can meet the requests of the small ones and the large ones alike – Umberto De Vincenzo of R&G Impianti said for eKapija.

As he pointed out, there are large arable areas in Serbia, the agriculture is developed, and the interest of this company in the Serbian market is consequently big.

– We already have several clients from Serbia. We hope that there will be more, but when it comes to larger investments, we haven't yet considered them. The “made in Italy” is, after all, a symbol of quality, so it's important to us for the production to be carried out in Italy. Also, within our factory in Cesena, we monitor the entire process of the production, which is very important to us, so we haven't planned to start producing in another country – De Vincenzo points out.

The Italian company Unitec also produces machines and equipment for the sorting of fruit and vegetables.

– These are machines for the sorting of fresh fruit and vegetables exclusively, and Unitec offers innovative technologies and solutions. They produce equipment for sorting, calibration and packing of over 35 varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables. The company has been present in Serbia for eight years now, through its representative, the company Panonska. The interest of the visitors is very high, as Italy is far ahead of us when it comes to technology. On the other hand, Serbia is a developing market, so Italian companies are interested in investing – Nada Teofanov of Panonska told us.

The Nischler plant nursery is one of the biggest producers of apples in Europe. They produce around 6 million trees on around 7,000 hectares annually.

– Some seven years ago, we started selling in Serbia as well. We had several meetings at the Novi Sad fair, and I hope that new cooperation will come out of it. Serbia is a very interesting market for us, as we already have clients we cooperate with, and I hope that there will be an opportunity for further growth as well – a representative of Nischler told our portal.

Igor Maccanti (Photo: Jelena Gajinov)Igor Maccanti
At the fair, we also met representatives of Maccanti Vivai, a producer of pear and apple seedlings.

– We have been producing these seedlings in Italy for a long time, and two years ago, we opened a company in Serbia. We also sell seedlings here, but prepared using the Italian technology. Serbia is a very interesting market for us and it is no coincidence that we've opened our representation here. Our seat is in Novi Sad, but we sell our products all over Serbia and the region, and we intend to keep expanding – Igor Maccanti told our portal.

Geoplant Vivai is an Italian plant nursery which is present in the international market for over 40 years, specializing in the production of seedlings of strawberry and other fruit, and they are also working on genetically improving the varieties. As they told us, the Serbian market has been confirmed as one of the most interesting so far and in the future as well, especially when it comes to products such as cherry and strawberry seedlings, which have caused a great interest among producers and in the market in general.

– Our seedlings have been present in Serbia for more than 10 years, thanks to a network of agents and dealers in this territory, as well as large companies which buy directly from us. This year's agricultural fair in Novi Sad has been very successful for us. Compared to 2018, we had more visitors and more interest expressed by fruit producers, especially when it comes to strawberry seedlings, which has proven to be our most important product in this market – Gianluca Pasi of Geoplant Vivai told us.


As he pointed out, there are not yet plans to open a representation in Serbia, but the company will certainly continue being present in the market through agents and dealers.

– Our technicians will be increasingly present in order to support clients and producers that use our seedlings. As is the case in other markets we are present in, our main task and goal is for clients to be happy and loyal – Pasi emphasized.

The company Castellari, which produces pruning and harvesting equipment, presented its products for the first time at the fair.

– The company already has a representative for Serbia, the Smederevo-based company Agrolab, and this is our first time at the fair. Smederevo is a fruit growing area, and the clients' interest is understandably high. This especially pertains to Castellari pruning shears, as this is a high quality product. Visitors from the countries of the region also showed an interest in this equipment, so we are very satisfied with our participation in the fair – Nemanja Markovic of Agrolab said for eKapija.

Fabio Coronin (Photo: Jelena Gajinov)Fabio Coronin
Companies from the Veneto Region also presented themselves to the visitors of the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad.

– Veneto is a region with a traditionally developed agriculture, but I also have to say that we have a very developed sector of industry and production of agricultural mechanization. At this stand, 10 companies presented their products, some of which have already exhibited in Novi Sad, whereas others exhibited in Serbia for the first time. However, I calculated that there were also around 20 companies which had come to the fair outside of our organization, and which already have distribution and commercial partners in Serbia. The aim of this fair is for companies from our region to get to know the market of Serbia above all, but also to meet clients from other countries, as this is an international event after all – said Fabio Coronin of the New Foreign Trade Center of the Chambers of Commerce of Veneto.

As he pointed out, this was a fruitful gathering for a certain number of companies.

– Due to the specific nature of their products, some companies found it hard to contract jobs, but it still happened. According to the information, some of them will develop a business in Serbia, whereas some companies from Veneto have already received requests for estimates – Coronin pointed out for eKapija.

We have seen that the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad attracted a large number of Italian companies, and representatives of FederUncoma also came to Serbia in order to invite Serbian agriculturists to visit fairs in Bologna and Bari. The organization Veronafiere came to Novi Sad for the same purpose.

– We represent fairs in Verona for the Alpine-Adriatic region and Turkey. We came to Serbia to promote the fairs we organize, especially those dedicated to the agricultural sector. In late January or early February, we are organizing a large agricultural fair. There have already been some participants from Serbia, but I hope there will be much more after our presentation in Novi Sad – said Alessandro Miele of Veronafiere.

D. Obradovic
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