Export of Fruit and Vegetables from Serbia to EU to be Customs-free for Another Five Years

Fruit and vegetable producers and exporters from Serbia and other economies of the Western Balkans can sell their goods customs-free to the clients in the European Union for another five years, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia announced.

The decision of the European Union on the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM), whereby the current trade benefits for the export of products not covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and those for which the SAA is less favorable, are extended until the end of 2025, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The decision, which is renewed every five years, at the proposition of the European Commission, was adopted by the European Parliament and confirmed by the Council of the EU.

– A more favorable trade regime, the extension of which, in communication with the institutions in Brussels, is also advocated by the joint chamber of commerce of the region, is especially important for small and medium enterprises – producers and exporters of fruit and vegetables, from fresh apples and plums to sweet corn. The saving of several dozen million euros on customs gives them an advantage over the competition, the opportunity for an increased export and income and a better positioning in the big market of the European Union – stated Marko Cadez, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum.

In addition to apples, plums and sweet corn, over the next five years, the products that can be exported customs-free from the Western Balkans to the EU include, among others, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, grapes, apricots, cherries, sour cherries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, nuts, melons and various citrus fruits. According to the ATM, the possibility of exporting an additional 30,000 hectoliters a year is extended for the wine producers from the region, after the quotas that the EU has approved for the Western Balkans economies individually, in line with the bilateral agreements, are used up.

Privredna komora Srbije

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum

Marko Cadez

Autonomous Trade Measures

potatoes

zucchini

mushrooms

grapes

apricots

cherries

sour cherries

nectarines

peaches

strawberries

nuts

melons

citrus fruits

apples

plums

sweet corn