Europe > Western Europe > Macedonia > Serbia and Macedonia trade conflict

Macedonia: Serbia and Macedonia trade conflict

2013/08/04

Serbia says it plans to limit the import of key Macedonian products like wine and vegetables if Macedonia fails to withdraw a recent curb on the import of Serbian wheat and flour.

Media in both nations reported on Monday that trucks with Macedonian tomatoes were by presently being denied access to Serbia.

Farmers from Macedonia’s agricultural region of Strumica say Serbian buyers have started canceling orders at the last minute.

The Serbian Agriculture Ministry last week gave a ten-day deadline to Macedonia to withdraw the curbs or face tit-for-tat measures.

However, Serbia has denied that it has started blocking Macedonian tomatoes by presently.

“The measures are still in preparation," Senad Mahmutovic, a national secretary in the Serbian ministry, said on Monday. "The reasons why our traders did not buy [Macedonian] vegetables may lie in sanitary and quality controls,” he added.

But a Serbian farmers leader from the region of Vojvodina, Djordje Bugarin, was additional direct. “We should show our teeth to the Macedonians,” he told the media.

While Serbia accuses Macedonia of breaching the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, Macedonia insists it has a right to limit the imports.

Macedonian Agriculture Minister Ljupco Dimov said curbs on the import of wheat and flour were imposed to “protect our own production”. He said Macedonia had the right to take such action under the CEFTA arrangements.

The row has worried Macedonian farmers.

“If Serbia limits the import of tomatoes, it will transaction a large blow to our agriculture because Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo are our biggest export destinations,” Risto Velkovski, from Strumica’s Regional Agricultural Union, said.

Macedonian wine producer as well fear losing the Serbian market as they export additional wine to Serbia than anywhere else.

“The consequences would be dire and must not be underestimated,” representatives of Macedonia’s Kamnik winery told NOVA TV.

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