Protests, announcements of new tractor factories and ideas for investments in agrarian sector – 2024 Retrospective, investments in AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY

In agriculture, the year behind us was marked by a great drought, which brought numerous problems for agriculturists. The protests that were organized during last year, all things considered, could continue this year as well, if the various requests are not met. At the beginning of this year, there was already a talk between dairy producers and state representatives.

It was also a year of announcements of various investments, but also innovative ideas, which have found their place in the market. Also, while one of the post famous Serbian brands struggled with the consequences of a fire, another famous company decided to change its portfolio.

More details can be found below, in our list of the ten most read articles in the field of agriculture and food industry.

1. New factory for production of Rakovica tractors

From the country of pyramids, the Egyptian Nossir El Morsi has decided to launch a new production in Serbia – Novi Traktori Rakovica. As announced in June last year, it will be an old style, but under a new name.

– We will open a factory in Trstenik and initially produce three models. We will also install the original English Perkins engine of 64 kW. It will all be similar to the old Rakovica, except that we will upgrade some things that need upgrading – said El Morsi.

As said at the time, due to the various licenses and rights, at least 70% of the parts must be produced in Serbia, so therefore some smaller factories with which Rakovica cooperated will once again produce some elements and assemblies.

2. Prosciutto at EUR 300 per kilogram

Marko Jevtic from Velika Plana came to an idea a few years ago to fatten his pigs in a completely healthy manner – with fruit and vegetables. He opted to farm the local breeds Moravka and Resavka, which he feeds “rich” food: watermelons, cherries, bananas, pumpkins, and he makes sure to give whey and dairy products to sows and piglets.

These pigs are fattened for more than a year and, on average, weigh around 115 kilograms when the time comes to process them.

This farmer has the meat dried on Zlatibor with people of trust, and he sells his prosciutto at a price of EUR 300 per kilogram, although it can’t be bought per kilogram, but only as a whole.

3. First agrisolar project in Balkans

In the territory of the municipality of Kula, the plan is to build an agri-solar power plant of around 800 MW. As can be seen from the detailed regulation plan which the municipality of Kula has put up for public inspection, the company Agrosolar doo Beograd plans to build the project on over 700 ha.

The company Agrosolar is jointly owned by the companies Kula Solar and MK Green Energy Limited. The construction, as they announced, is planned to be completed by the end of 2026.

4. Factory for production of fruit-farming tractors

At the beginning of 2024, it was announced that the local self-government of Sremska Mitrovica was close to making a deal for an investor which already operated in Spain, Turkey and Australia to open a facility in the industrial zone Lake (Jezero). This is the company Antonio Carraro, which produces fruit farming tractors.

– The new factory will produce around 15 types of tractors, they plan to have a production facility and a showroom, and the value of the investment is EUR 8.8 million. They have already opened accounts in commercial banks, they have already registered here, so the first steps have been made, and now it’s up to us to solve the property-legal relations, and as for the utilities in that part, there are already a water and sewer network and a gas network. According to their business plan, 50 to 100 workers should be employed here initially – said Uros Veselinovic, the mayor’s assistant for investments and local economic development.

5. Former Simka chocolate factory in Vranje to become shopping mall

A shopping center will be built on the site of the once famous Simka chocolate factory from Vranje, as can be seen from the urban project that the City of Vranje put on public presentation in May last year. The urban project involves the reconstruction, rehabilitation, adaptation and conversion of the production facility at KP number 6429/1, cadastral municipality Vranje 1, between Omladinskih brigada Street and Nikola Tesla Boulevard.

The future shopping mall will be composed of three parts - a commercial part, a warehouse and an administrative part, and 78 parking spaces are also planned. The commercial building will span around 5,500 m2.

The client of the project, i.e. the investor, is Dunja d.o.o. food industry from Belgrade, under which the chocolate factory in Vranje also operated. Dunja doo has been owned by the Sabac-based company Candy Rush since three years ago.

6. Bambi overcoming consequences of fire

After a fire broke out in June at the Bambi factory in Pozarevac, they worked on repairing and renewing the damaged production lines. An investment in the building and expansion of the factory’s capacities was also announced. Furthermore, despite the new circumstances, all the jobs at the company would remain fully secure, as announced in August 2024.

Due to the damage caused by the fire, the dynamics of the production are adapted to the available capacities, so it was said at the time that it could be expected for Plazma and certain brands in certain packaging not to be constantly available at all points of sale and in all markets.

In November, the production of Plazma began again at a reduced capacity, and it was announced that the continuation of the production would take place on the only one of the three production lines that had not been damaged in the fire, the company announced. After the first phase, the long-term plan encompasses the launching of the remaining production lines as well, as well as a continuation of investments in the construction and expansion of the factory’s capacities, Bambi said in its announcement.

7. Perutnina Ptuj-Topiko to build chicken farm in Backa Topola

Perutnina Ptuj-Topiko plans to build a chicken farm in Backa Topola on a parcel of 47,320 m2, where the facilities will take up 18,808.80 m2.

According to the urban project, from the beginning of March 2024, the plan is to build a poultry farm complex with all the side features, access roads and footpaths, traffic and maneuvering areas, parking spaces, green areas and the accompanying infrastructure network.

The envisaged capacity of the farm, which consists of seven facilities for poultry farming is 315,000 chickens per turn, that is, 45,000 animals per facility in each turn. Throughout the year, around six chicken breeding cycles are planned.

8. Sunoko to produce alcohol instead of sugar in Kovacica

Instead of a sugar factory, from the second half of 2025, alcohol will be produced in Kovacica. Sunoko, as the owner of the sugar plant, will invest over EUR 34 million in the launching of this operation.

– The alcohol factory should be, as was the case with the sugar plant, a pillar of the local economy in that part of Banat and that is why the local populace should not be worried because sugar beet will no longer be processed – Sunoko announced for Dnevnik in December last year and noted that Sunoko would still produce sugar in its factories in Vrbas and Pecinci.

The reason why they are switching from sugar processing to alcohol production, according to Sunoko, is climate change, the constantly warm climate and droughts that reduce the yields and the digestion of the sugar beet.

9. Compensation of RSD 17,000 per hectare for certified seeds

As announced from the cabinet of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic in July last year, following a meeting with seven agriculturists’ associations, it was announced that the amendments to the Law on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development would contain a stipulation according to which the compensation for certified seeds would be paid in the amount of up to RSD 17,000 per hectare for the same area for which the right to basic incentives could be realized.

The United Associations of Agriculturists of Serbia sent a letter to the Government of Serbia in September requesting an urgent payment of subsidies of RSD 17,000 for certified seeds per hectare, within 30 days, and the removal of the excise tax on fuel of January 1. Otherwise, they threatened, they would organize protests again.

In October, the government adopted the amendments to this law, which envisaged that, in 2025, the compensation for certified seeds would be paid in the amount of up to RSD 17,000 per hectare. Until now, the compensation amounted to RSD 6,000 per hectare.

10. Meat Your Farmer

If you live in a city and want to farm homegrown chickens or get homegrown eggs, the unusual startup Meat Your Farmer, founded by Andrej Kravcuk, is offering a solution.

Since the moment this startup was founded, according to Andrej, through them, several hundred customers have come to traditionally produced eggs and chickens, but there are around 100 returning customers. Every two weeks, at their home addresses in Belgrade, and since recently in Novi Sad and Nis as well, but quarterly, they get fresh eggs and poultry, and ahead of certain holidays, turkey meat and pork as well.

He admits that traditionally produced food is and must be more expensive, but that the meat and eggs that they deliver to the customers contain no harmful chemicals, GMOs, antibiotics, hormones, or anything of the sort.

Agrosolar doo Beograd

Antonio Carraro doo Beograd

Grad Sremska Mitrovica

Industrija hrane Dunja d.o.o Beograd

Candy Rush doo Beograd

Koncern Bambi ad Požarevac

Sunoko d.o.o. Novi Sad

Vlada Republike Srbije

Perutnina Ptuj-Topiko doo Bačka Topola

Agrosolar doo Beograd

Antonio Carraro

City of Sremska Mitrovica

Dunja doo industrija hrane Beograd

Candy Rush Šabac

Bambi Požarevac

Perutnina Ptuj Topiko

Sunoko

Government of Serbia

United Associations of Agriculturists of Serbia

Meat Your Farmer

El Morsi

Marko Jevtić

Uroš Veselinović

Miloš Vučević

Andrej Kravčuk

Novi traktori Rakovica

industrial zone Jezero

EUR 300 prosciutto

Moravka

Resavka

feeding fruit to pigs

construction of agrisolar power plant in Kula

agrisolar power plant

production of fruit farming tractors

fruit farming tractors

Plazma

Plazme production

Bambi fire

chicken farm

construction of chicken farm

Perutnina Ptuj Topiko chicken farm

sugar plant in Kovačica

production of alcohol in Kovačica

alcohol factory Kovačica

compensation for certified seeds