Producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables from the countries of the Western Balkans will continue to sell their goods duty-free to buyers in the European Union in the next five years, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce announced.
The decision of the European Union on Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM), which extends the existing trade preferences for the export of products that are not covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), or for which the SAA is less favorable, was published in the Official Gazette of the EU.
The decision, which is renewed every five years, at the proposal of the European Commission, was made by the European Parliament and confirmed by the EU Council.
”A more trade regime, for the extension of which the joint chamber of commerce of the region advocated in communication with the institutions in Brussels, is especially important for small and medium enterprises – producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables from fresh apples and plums to sweet corn. The savings of several tens of millions of euros in customs give them an advantage over the competition, the opportunity for higher exports and earnings and better positioning in the large European Union market,” said Marko Cadez, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Western Balkans Chamber of Investment Forum, eKapija writes.
In addition to apples, plums and sweet corn, without a customs burden, in the next five years, the Western Balkans will export to the EU, among others, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, grapes, apricots, cherries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, melons and various citrus fruits…
According to ATM and wine producers from the region, the possibility of exporting an additional 30,000 hectoliters per year is extended, after using the quotas approved by the EU to the Western Balkan economies individually, according to bilateral agreements.