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Faced with increasing competition on the EU market and more demanding local consumers, stakeholders across the entire horticultural chain in Serbia will need to improve product quality to make a difference on both domestic and export markets. One interesting way for differentiating quality products and protecting their names is through geographical indications (GIs), which also provide an opportunity to reinforce value chain coordination and backward linkages. 

With this in mind, FAO Investment Centre and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with financing from Luxembourg, organized a study tour to Emilia Romagna, Italy, for a group of Serbian producers and processors in the horticulture sector – such as Foodland and Kopiko – producers’ associations and representatives from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Intellectual Property Office.

From 5 to 10 October 2014, participants travelled to Rome and subsequently to the Emilia Romagna region – Vignola, Cesena and Bologna – to meet with associations involved in the acquisition and management of GI status for local products, namely Vignola cherries; Amarene Brusche (sour cherry) of Modena; as well as pears, peaches and nectarines of Emilia Romagna. The study tour aimed to acquaint the participants with origin-based labelling for the development of sustainable GIs in the Serbian context.

Adding value

Serbia’s horticulture sector boasts an estimated 1.7 million tons of fruits and 1.8 million tons of vegetables. Serbia is, for example, the top producer and exporter of raspberries worldwide and, for sour cherries, the country ranks seventh with roughly 9 million trees. 

Serbia has an impressive market share for certain fruit products, produced mostly by small scale family farms, generally with old and low yielding cultivars, and limited market access. For local producers, the GI status provides a way to more effectively market a niche quality product and to gain access to wider distribution networks and foreign markets. For Serbia as a whole, this offers the opportunity for a greater value added on traditional products and a means to support rural development.

“We want to protect the Oblacina sour cherry to help us boost production", says Dušan Miladinović, Director of the Oblačinska Višnja Cooperative. “We want to position our products on the market and protect ourselves from processors who pressure us on price and reduce our opportunities to work and earn from sour cherry production.”

Through registration of geographical indications for products such as Oblacina sour cherry and the Ajvar of Kopaonik, the project seeks to enhance the rural economy through improved backward linkages between agribusiness companies and their suppliers, and strengthen public-private interactions on the development of origin-based labels. Achieving GI status for these Serbian fruits products will pave the way for the development of GIs for other Serbian products in the future. 

Sharing knowledge

Upon their arrival in Rome, participants met for a seminar at FAO to learn from Italian public authorities about the economic importance of GIs in Italy and the way these public voluntary standards are regulated. Participants included a representative of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, the Serbian Delegation, and FAO staff from TCI and AGS.

Over five days, participants met with experts from Italian fruit producing, processing, packaging and distribution firms, producers associations, and local authorities. Visits focused on the cases of Ciliege di Vignola PGI, Amarene Brusche di Modena PGI, Pesca e nettarina dell’Emilia Romagna PGI, and Pera dell’Emilia Romagna PGI with visits to local producers, cooperatives, and regional networks. During the meetings, pros and cons of the mentioned appellations were discussed with a focus on cooperation between producers and marketing strategies.

The study tour covered the importance of the GI system for the agribusiness sector in Italy, characteristics of four interesting cases of GIs, the role and functioning of GI organizations and other producers’ associations, the economic impact of GIs and ways for utilizing the GI as a marketing tool. Moreover, the importance of the “consorzi” for the protection of GIs was discussed through the visit of the “Consorzio di tutela della ciliegia di Vignola PGI” and discussions with its Director Walter Monari. The advantages of developing GIs in the horticultural sector were largely discussed: what seems even more important than a premium price from the producer’s perspective, was access to market, in particular to retail markets with differentiated and branded products.

“It was very interesting to learn about the role of the consortia in Italy and its interaction with the cooperatives”, says Mirjana Milutinović, from the Association of Entrepreneurs of Arilje.

The role of the inspection bodies in ensuring and protecting the original labelling, for instance Checkfruit, was also considered during the visit of the delegation to the regional authorities of Emilia Romagna in Bologna.

Participants visited the processing, packaging and distribution business Cooperativa Essiccasione Frutta Monterè, where they discussed GI strategies for processed products as well as the relation between GI status and other quality standards.

“We had the chance to understand how the GI status translates into daily operations,” says Nenad Kostic, from the Quality Control group of the Foodland Company. “The implementation of GI specifications encompasses inspections of the facilities and processing lines to ensure that the products meet minimum standards.”

The study tour wrapped up on the last day with a visit to Eataly, a high-end Italian food market and restaurant chain, where participants learned about the launching and marketing of high quality Italian agricultural products.

Traditional products meeting market needs

Facing the challenges of contemporary markets does not have to mean a loss of identity. Rather, existing tools can be used to maintain agricultural and food traditions while meeting the demands of modern markets. Geographical indications (GIs) are one such tool that serves as a sign on food products with a specific geographical origin that possess qualities, reputation or characteristics essentially attributable to that origin.

FAO and the EBRD seek to strengthen interactions between the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and producers and processors to promote the development of GIs. The development of premium product labels is considered as one way to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of agricultural systems.

For additional information, please visit http://eastagri.org/meetings/index.asp?id=104.