Renewal of Livestock Population Necessary for Export of Local Meat to Saudi Arabia

The companies Mesna Industrija Srem Sid and Industrija Mesa Djurdjevic in Pecinci have permits for the export of beef to Saudi Arabia

However, the export of local meat to that market has so far not been realized, and it is still not certain when this might happen, because, as the breeders say, the livestock fund is currently too small to be able to export. Let us remind that Serbia got the opportunity again, after 40 years, to export meat to the market of Saudi Arabia, which the Ministry of Agriculture characterized as an excellent opportunity for local breeders, especially now that the prices are reaching record values.

Both livestock breeders and agri-economists agree with that position, but they also say that foreign trade cannot be realized right away, but in the next period instead, if and when there are enough young cattle to be exported, because the livestock population is small at the moment and sufficient only for local needs.

The director of Mesna Industrija Srem Sid, Bratislav Bogatic, says for Dnevnik that, although local beef has not yet reached the Arab market, this type of meat is still being exported. According to him, frozen beef is exported to the market of China, and the quantities depend on the demand, so sometimes it is one to two containers a week, and sometimes five.

He emphasizes that the local price of beef is high for purchasers in Saudi Arabia, and since there is not too much fattened cattle in Serbia, the meat here cannot be cheaper than it is now, but only more expensive.

– Livestock breeders cannot sell animals below the production price just so that young cattle would be exported to Saudi Arabia – Bogatic said. – We have already been visited by traders from Saudi Arabia, but we didn’t make a deal. Next week, we expect more purchasers, so we will see whether we will do business together.

A kilogram of beef costs around EUR 10, that is, around RSD 1,200, in Serbia, and on average, the price is EUR 6.5.

– Our meat is of higher quality than the beef from Argentina, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, which is where Saudi Arabia is supplied from, but we don’t know how much it costs in those countries – Bogatic said.

Industrija Mesa Djurdjevic hasn’t started exporting meat to Saudi Arabia either. Milenko Djurdjevic says for Dnevnik that there are currently no conditions for it, because there is no livestock in the local market.

– Our farms are empty and, until they are filled, there will be no export. There are no cows or bulls, so there’s no meat for foreign markets either – Djurdjevic said and added that it was good that Serbian meat could be sold in Saudi Arabia, but that the current moment was not right for it, because the livestock population needed to be renewed first.

The agrarian analyst from Novi Sad Cedomir Keco says that our country could export around 30,000 head of livestock in two tours.

– Our livestock fund is small at the moment and we could only export 20 tons of meat a month to Saudi Arabia – said Keco. – Still, that trade could considerably increase if incentives per head of livestock would increase from RSD 15,000 to RSD 20,000 next year.

Harmonization of veterinarian certificates

– The fact that Saudi Arabia has approved the import of beef and lamb meat, milk and dairy products from Serbia is good news for Serbian livestock breeders and is a step forward in the foreign trade arrangements with a country which has a demanding and high-paying market – the secretary of the Association for Livestock Breeding and Processing of Livestock Products at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Nenad Budimovic, said recently.

– Following this agreement, the next step is to harmonize veterinarian certificates and to implement the halal standard, which is necessary in trade arrangements with Muslim countries and which is very demanding and renewed each year – he said.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Srem Šid d.o.o. Šid

Đurđević Subotište

Milenko Đurđević

Bratislav Bogatić

Čedomir Keco

Nenad Budimović

export of meat and meat products

beef

export of meat to Saudi Arabia

export of meat products to Saudi Arabia