The Berry Business Forum 2023 was held, organized by Agro Belgrade, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management. Prima Bio Solutions, as the main sponsor, along with other sponsors, supported this event for the third consecutive year at the Belgrade Fair. This year, we once again succeeded in bringing together Serbian and regional berry growers, domestic and international experts, suppliers, and distributors involved in the production of berries.
On October 12th, the Forum was ceremoniously opened by Mrs. Vedrana Ilić, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia, who stated that we are facing a challenging year for agriculture in terms of global conditions and emphasized the need for such gatherings. She also discussed the annual incentive measures of the Ministry and advised agricultural producers to collaborate and organize cooperatives to facilitate access to international markets, primarily due to the quantity and quality of fruits. She also stressed that collectively, we need to work on Serbia’s position in international market frameworks to compete for each individual customer abroad and enable better market placement.
The opening was also graced with a speech by Mr. Koen van Ginneken, Agricultural Attaché of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who mentioned the significance of the Project between Serbia and the Netherlands for the improvement of berry production and distribution through the exchange of knowledge and experience. He expressed pride in the achievements to date and the mutual learning, hoping for a more organized and professional berry sector with economic and ecological sustainability. He emphasized that the end of the Project does not mean the end of our cooperation but marks the planting of seeds for long-term collaboration.
This year’s Berry Business Forum focused on three panel discussions that addressed topics such as new varieties of planting material, rights and obligations, the berry market, and experiences from the the Netherland`s “Soft Fruit Solutions Serbia” Project. Panelists included representatives of relevant institutions, organizations, distributor chains, as well as domestic and Dutch berry producers and experts in berry production. You can watch recordings of all panel discussions on our official YouTube channel, accessible HERE.
The Forum was closed by Mr. Fred Evers, Coordinator of the the Netherland`s “Soft Fruit Solutions Serbia” Project and Mr. Vladimir Živanović, the organizer and director of Agro Belgrade, who expressed gratitude to participants and partners and invited everyone to be part of the upcoming Agro Belgrade Fair scheduled for January 25th-27th, 2024.
You can view the photo gallery HERE.
