Summary of Serbia wine sector

Serbian wine sector relies on import to bridge the gap between increased demand and reduced domestic production. Viticulture and winemaking in Serbia is a sector with long tradition but its potential is not fully utilized. Although the official statistical data are showing that Serbia has 64,000 ha of vineyards and 355 mil. vines, actual vineyard area is estimated of about 20,000 ha. From 1995, production of grape and wine is showing decline trend as a result of stagnant economical situation, unfavorable marketing conditions, collapse of the big wineries, inopportune privatization of wineries, non existence of related legislation, low diversity of grape varieties attended for wine production, low quality of the planting material, vineyard management, un-sufficient modern processing facilities, high
import of very low wine quality, inappropriate media promotions.

Serbian average production of processed grape is estimated at 350,000 MT and about 2.0 mil. hl. of wine. In order to fill the gap between domestic production and consumption needs, Serbia in 2007 imported 30 mil. lit. of wine (bulk, still bottled wine, grape juice, sparkling wine and other categories of wine), valued at 37.9 mil USD. In terms of volume, Macedonian wine accounted for 83 percent of total Serbian wine import. The value of U.S wine export into Serbia in 2007 was 82,775 USD, or only 0.29 percent of total Serbian wine import. In 2007 Serbia exported about 10 mil. lit. of wine for the value of 12.0 mil USD. From 2004 the trend of consumption of wine has been upward. In 2007, it is estimated at
about 3.8 lit per capita. It should be noted that Serbian traditionally makes wine for r domestic needs; the wine consumption is probably about 25 percent higher than officially estimated.

The improvement of overall economic conditions in Serbia, low domestic production, increasing trend for higher quality wine consumption make Serbia an attractive market for U.S wine, especially high end wines.

Export-Import:

In the last few years, Serbia has a deficit in wine trade. Serbia mainly trading is with FTA countries, where the biggest quantities are imported from Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia (CEFTA market), followed by Slovenia, Italy, France, Chile, etc. Data for the total trade in wine over the last four years are shown in the following tables:
 

Value of total wine import reflected an increasing trend (from USD 11 mil. in 2004 to 38 mil. USD in 2007) which is much higher than the export increment.

Concerning non-EU trade, the majority of imports come from Macedonia, and the majority of exports go to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The biggest importers of Macedonian wines are the following Serbian companies: Vinoproduct Coka, Rubin, Navip, Vino Zupa, WOW.