How Serbian Food Conquers the World, One Fair at a Time: Gulfood 2022, Dubai (3) – Honey from the Tisa and the Morava, Truffles and Fish from Belgrade, Spices from Nis

Production of high-quality food (and beverages) is the fine line that divides, say, France and Italy, from a Third World agrarian country. It’s the cherry on the top, which delights the palate of the consumer, but also the producer’s income, much more so than when truckfuls of grains are put on the market. We seem to have understood this – and we’re also doing a little something to promote such expensive pleasures in rich foreign markets.

And the market is the United Arab Emirates is rich indeed. With a population of around 10 million people – mostly foreigners “working temporarily” – the gross domestic product per capita exceeded USD 40,000 in the absolute amount and USD 70,000 as per the purchasing power parity two years ago. That’s why it’s good that, in addition to traders of cheaper goods – who also come here for the higher prices – Serbia’s stand at the International Food Show Gulfood in Dubai, the richest Emirate, also featured a producer of truffle-based specialties, the company Damar Confit from Belgrade.



According to the director, Danijel Trifunovic, on such occasions they are satisfied if they sign one agreement, under the principle of “one fair, one product”. They export to China, Russia, America, Europe, and since before, they’ve had a small agreement with the UAE.

So, being exclusive enough also means abandoning the strategy of “high turnover, small income”, as long since defined by a sports coach, referring to a team which has a high ball possession percentage, but rarely scores. The problem is that the luxury goods market is also globalized and monopolized – the French king of luxury, Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest European, is rumored to be the person who decides, before the election, who the president will be – so our entrepreneurs need a lot of inventiveness and even genius to find their niche in the world market of expensive food. At the Dubai show, we were served truffle chocolate.

Furthermore, the visitors could also taste Serbian honey from the Pomoravlje area and also from Vojvodina.

Medino, a branch of Cmana doo from Krnjevo near Velika Plana, is the biggest exporter of honey from Serbia and a bearer of the “Cuvarkuca” watermark, awarded within the “Made in Serbia” project of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS).

– In 2021, Serbia exported 2,175 tons of honey, of which Medino exported 1,200 tons. That’s around 55%, and in the previous year, it went up to 57% – says Ivan Grujic, the CEO of Medina. – We are buying out beekeeping products – honey, propolis, pollen and royal jelly – we pack honey for the Serbian market under the Krnjevac brand, whereas, for the foreign market, we’ve made the “Woodland” brand, which sells in the USA, Canada, Australia. We have a developed preparation of market brands for Macedonia, for Switzerland, and we export honey throughout Europe and the world, to markets such as Japan, Norway, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany…



In the USA and Canada, Cmana from Krnjevo – a company organically linked with DIS markets – has its own distributors; it all began with people of Serbian origin. The main business segment is the bulk export of honey in barrels of 300 kg, which are forwarded to packers. They also produce for the trademarks of store chains, such as Metro.

We asked – are the presentations at fairs of any help?

– They certainly are. We don’t only see them as places for selling honey, but as places where we can meet with partners which have a long-standing cooperation with us, to renew the contacts and exchange experiences and information – Grujic says.

Tisamed from Kanjiza, which is presenting at Gulfood for the second time, is also a bearer of the “Cuvarkuca” watermark. This is a brand created by the parent company Tisacoop. Five years ago, it launched a project which aims to integrate the beekeepers of Vojvodina. A new honey processing factory was built in 2018. The next step is to sell what is produced, wherever possible, so that’s the reason to come to Dubai.



– This region is very interesting for honey. Let’s mention Saudi Arabia, and there’s also the Indian market – big exporters, but also importers of honey. We already cooperate well with those countries. We mostly export to Europe, Austria, Spain, Germany, Poland, and to Canada – says Zoltan Kermeci, the director in charge of exports and development at Tisacoop.

The shows are an opportunity to sell something here and there, but also buy, so at the stand of the Nis-based company Yumis, best known to our consumers for their instant soups, we encountered an Iranian businessman who was offering raw ingredients. Yumis also produces spices, as well as puddings, whipped cream, teas, peanuts, additives for the baking industry… In the Middle Eastern market, it is present with microwave popcorn. They’ve existed for 30 years, they export to 30 countries, both in Europe and Africa, where the main exporting item is a 10-gram spice.



– The cost of transport has increased a lot, both locally and in terms of shipping – says Mladen Sadzak, the sales manager at Yumis, who also reveals how the company is coping with the current difficulties. – We are increasing the storage, we are investing in the goods. The plan for this year is to always have enough ingredients and packaging so as to be able to produce a good product.

The New Belgrade-based Tropic Trade is familiar to us from their fish stores. They also pack fish for sale at supermarkets.

– We produce and distribute primarily river fish – trout, and we also highlight the import and sale of frozen hake, mackerel, salmon, tuna, mussels. We process, fillet and smoke fish. These are all products that we sell in the local market, and our goal is to become export-oriented in the upcoming period – says the sales manager, Milan Milosavljevic.



This has been eKapija’s report, in three parts, from the International Food Show Gulfood in Dubai. We presented the business logic and the tools our companies use in order to put their products on the world market through this fair.

M. Radonjic

Privredna komora Srbije

Damar confit doo Beograd

Cmana d.o.o. Krnjevo

Tisacoop doo Kanjiža

Yumis d.o.o. Niš

Tropic trade doo Beograd

PTP DIS Krnjevo

EKAPIJA