Ferrero offers help to agriculturists – Hazelnut production in Serbia could be profitable

The company Ferrero Agriser has been operating in Serbia for several years now, where it produces hazelnuts. How they do it and how they upgrade their production on a daily basis was presented at the seminary “Innovations in Agriculture”, held on May 11 and organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).

Frazier Scott of Ferrero shared the company’s experiences when it comes to implementing innovations. As he said for eKapija, Serbia, but also the countries of the region, are a very attractive market for Ferrero. He pointed out that Serbia had a great potential when it comes to developing agriculture.

– Our investment in Serbia started some three to four years ago, when we planted hazelnuts on 600 hectares in Vojvodina. We are still in an early stage, but I hope that in the next six to seven years we will reach the full production capacity. Also, in addition to developing our own production, we are looking for other agriculturists who are interested in producing hazelnuts, so that we would be able to give them a platform for a successful production of this type of nut here in Serbia – Scott told eKapija.

As he says, several years ago, there were several hazelnut plantations in Serbia, so when Ferrero looked for suppliers from Serbia, starting their own production turned out to be the best solution.

– We decided to invest in the production of hazelnuts in Serbia ourselves. I believe that your country is truly suitable for it. That’s why we want as many agriculturists as possible to visit our farm and see how we work, so that they could develop a successful, profitable business in the future. Our aim is to have even more land under hazelnuts in Serbia – Scott points out.

According to him, Serbia is a land of agriculturists and good ones at that.

– You can see this in any part of Serbia, whether they are growing maize, barley or wheat, it’s clear that they are experienced agriculturists. I also believe that they can be successful when it comes to growing hazelnuts. We are here to help them, to teach them. It’s important for them to cooperate with other institutions, universities, so as to upgrade the production of hazelnuts and develop a stable chain of supply – eKapija’s interviewee says.

When it comes to further plans of Ferrero in Serbia, Frazier Scott says that, in the upcoming period, they will focus on what they’ve already started.

– We want to prove to ourselves and to other agriculturists that Serbia is a country where quality hazelnuts can be grown successfully. We have already seen that they can. That’s why we primarily focus on that segment. Furthermore, as I’ve already said, we aim to motivate other agriculturists to produce hazelnuts and thereby upgrade the supply chain. When we manage to do all that, we will decide what to do next in Serbia – Frazier Scott told our portal.

D. Obradovic