The International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, the most important and the largest trade fair event in South-East Europe, in the presence of Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic, local and foreign officials and numerous guests, was opened yesterday by the mayor of Novi Sad, Milos Vucevic, who stated that agriculture is a serious opportunity of Serbia that has to be utilized to the full.
‒ A country that has strong agriculture, healthy land and good hosts should not worry about its future ‒ Vucevic said, welcoming participants and visitors of the 86th Agricultural Fair at the Novi Sad Fair. ‒ Support is necessary for domestic agriculture, which is being done by the appropriate measures of the Government of Serbia, but at the same time the agriculturers have to be open to new knowledge and innovations, the latest technologies, without which Serbia will not be competitive in the markets that are open to us.
He emphasized that for the faster development of the Serbian agrarian sector, the key factors are state incentives, which are seven billion dinars higher than last year, but also the incentives of other levels of government, political stability in the country and the application of new technical solutions in cooperation with science.
Indicating that 1,518 exhibitors from 32 countries will present their products and services at the 86th International Agricultural Fair, Vucevic stressed that an increasing number of exhibitors who are exhibiting at this event tells about the increasing interest of foreign and domestic companies to participate in it.
Minister Nedimovic also confirmed that agriculture is a branch in which our country has undoubted potential and great opportunities.
‒ Serbia has no oil, sea or gold mines, but it has agriculture and food, and this is the sector that needs to lead our economy, due to which we have the opportunity to be at the highest position among the countries in this region, ‒ the minister said.
He added that, with the development of primary agricultural production in Serbia, the agro-industry and trade must be strengthened simultaneously, so that our products can be successfully placed in the markets around the world. Nedimovic took the opportunity to thank all those who trade with Serbia because last year there was a surplus of € 2 billion worth of exchange.
The Deputy of Provincial Government, Djordje Milicev reminded that from from the middle of last year to the date, more than 20 billion dinars have been invested in agriculture in Vojvodina through various support measures.
‒ With incentives for young agriculturers up to the age of 40, as well as for women in the countryside, support for husbandries is provided as one of the milestones of agricultural production in the province, and 50 million dinars have been allocated for these purposes, Milicevic said. He also added that 11 projects have been done in the province, which increase irrigation surfaces, and another 18 will be conducted in the second phase, so there will be 107,000 hectares of the land covered by irrigation systems in Vojvodina. The total value of these projects exceeds 65 million euros.
The partner of the 86th International Agricultural Fair is Italy, and the Assistant of Italian Minister of Agriculture Franco Mancato indicated that the representation of about 30 Italian companies marks a decade of strategic partnership between Serbia and Italy, as well as 140 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Ambassador of Tunisia, the Friend Country of the 86th International Agricultural Fair, Seif Alah Rejeb pointed out that this fair is a good opportunity for Serbian businessmen and the market to meet with the manufacturers from Tunisia. He added that 12 exhibitors from that country are present this year, primarily olive oil producers and high quality date palm, which are exported to more than 80 countries around the world.
The Novi Sad Fair CEO, Slobodan Cvetkovic, emphasized that, for decades, Novi Sad Fair has been a place for exchanging knowledge and experience, where the latest achievements in many industries has been presented, and where people have been establishing important business cooperation and arranging worthy deals.
‒ This is confirmed in the best way by the International Agricultural Fair, where more than 7,000 foreign and 100,000 domestic exhibitors have participated over the past eight and a half decades, and more than ten million visitors have seen what they exhibited in our fair space ‒ said Cvetkovic.
