Serbia – Russia Agroindustry Forum Opened in Belgrade

On the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Forum at the Hyatt Hotel in Belgrade, which brought together over 100 both Serbian and Russian companies, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia Miroljub Aleksić said that Russia was one of the largest foreign trade partners to Serbia.
Indicating that last year our export to Russia reached USD 4.15 billion, whereas the import from Russia exceeded two billion, CCIS Vice President emphasized that the upcoming signing of the foreign trade agreement with the Euroasian Economic Union would give an additional impulse to the export to even larger market.
The Russian delegation participating at the Forum is composed of the most reputable concerns and big producers of agricultural and food products, as well as high officials of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.
A trade fair is organized within this Forum, where over 25 Russian producers of confectionery, meat, dairy products, bevegares, oil products and cereals promote their products to their interested Serbian partners. Numerous B2B meetings, gastronomy workshops with tasting and short presentations by the leading Russian cooks were held during the fair.
More than 80 Serbian companies participated in, primarily from the sectors of suppliers, fruit and vegetable producers, trade chains, dairy industry, confectionery industry, beverages, meat industry, and other activities.
Serbian Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimović stated that he expected fruitful meetings of Russian and Serbian companies, as well as new opportunities to increase trade exchange in the area of agriculture.
“Upon signing the trade agreement with the Russian Federation, the trade in the agricultural sector increased from USD 100 million to USD 480 million", Nedimović said at the opening.  
He added that many international companies, primarily those from the EU, that did not have the access to the Russian market tried to abuse the agreement, but it was successfully prevented. 
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Sergej Levin estimated that trade relations of the two countries steadily developed and grew in all areas, including agriculture as well.
"We have a huge potential for further development of trade, which is contributed by the existence of political will, historical ties of our nations, and climate conditions in Russia. Today’s event and participation of the leading Russian agroindustry companies will also contribute to further development of trade relations", Levin stated. He added that more than 200 meetings of companies from the two countries were planned to be held during the three-day Forum. 
During the Forum, representatives of the large Russian trade chain X5 will visit Serbian orchard plantations –Agrounija Inđija and Celanova Agro Vršac. In addition, representatives of other Russian companies will tomorrow visit Serbian companies Neoplanta, Imlek, Swisslion, Winery Drašković and PIK Oplenac.