New investments and investors are very important for Serbia, so investments and companies from Italy are very welcome and our business are cooperating well with Italian companies operating in Serbia.
We talked with the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina (PKV), Boško Vučurević, about the cooperation between Vojvodina and Italy, the importance of Italian companies that are constantly coming to do business in Serbia and Vojvodina, as well as about what the PKV’s plans for this year.
“A total of 2,250 companies in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (AP Vojvodina) have been doing business with the Republic of Italy. Looking back several years, the number of companies in the AP Vojvodina that do business with Italy has been constantly growing. In late 2019, 62 foreign affiliates from the Republic of Italy were active in the AP Vojvodina. They employed 8,217 people, and most of them were active in the processing sector. Maize was the most important product that the AP Vojvodina exported to the Republic of Italy in 2020 too,” said Mr Vučurević.
How would you rate the economic cooperation between Italy and Serbia, and in that sense Vojvodina and Italy?
Italy is one of the most important external trade partners of the Republic of Serbia (besides Germany and China). In the total external trade of the Republic of Serbia during the first two months of this year, with an 8.3% share in Serbia’s total external trade, the Republic of Italy occupies third place. As far as exports are concerned, the processing industry and agriculture dominate the trade, i.e. the export of cars and maize.
Italy is also one of the most important external trade partners of the AP Vojvodina. In the total external trade of the AP Vojvodina during the first two months of this year, with an 8.6% share in Serbia’s total external trade, the Republic of Italy the second place, right after Germany. In the period January-February 2021, with its 8.5% share, the Republic of Italy takes third place on the list of countries that Serbia exports to the most, and the second place (with an 8.7% share) among the countries from which Serbia imports the most. The trade between the AP Vojvodina and the Republic of Italy Italy accounted for 33.5% of the total external trade between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Italy during the first two months of 2021.
If we look at export statistics by sectors in the total export of the AP Vojvodina to the Republic of Italy in the period January-February 2021, the processing industry dominates with 84.3%
Many Italian companies do business in the AP Vojvodina. How important are they for the Province?
According to the 2019 data we have at our disposal, a total of 2,250 companies from the AP Vojvodina did business with the Republic of Italy. Looking back several years, the number of companies in the AP Vojvodina that do business with Italy has been constantly growing. In late 2019, 62 foreign affiliates from the Republic of Italy were active in the AP Vojvodina. They employed 8,217 people, and most of them were active in the processing sector.
If we look at export statistics by sectors in the total export of the AP Vojvodina to the Republic of Italy in the period January-February 2021, the processing industry dominates with 84.3%, which is a 3.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The export of the agricultural sector occupies second place, with a 10.5% growth. Maize was the most important product that the AP Vojvodina exported to the Republic of Italy in 2020 too.
What can Italian companies learn from us and vice versa?
The most important thing is that the number of businesses and investments from Italy in Serbia has been constantly on the up. Italian companies in Serbia employ over 50,000 workers. New investments and investors are very important for Serbia, so Italian investments and companies are very welcome and our businesses are cooperating well with Italian companies in Serbia. This certainly affects both the development of the economic environment and the development of excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.
In anticipation of a better epidemiological situation and new opportunities for organizing trade fairs and business meetings live, we are continuing to hold online meetings
What are PKV’s plans for 2021, not only in terms of cooperating with Italy but also with other countries?
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, all PKV’s activities will continue to focus on online communication with our colleagues from other chambers, both in the region and worldwide. In the past year, we have had over 50 online conferences with other chambers of commerce, with whom we exchanged experiences concerning the functioning of the economy in the Covid era. We have overcome many obstacles that companies, mainly those that were export-oriented, encountered.
There were also new projects, which we wholeheartedly supported. As meetings in person are still not possible, we had several online business forums. We created an opportunity for business people to talk online with their peers from similar industries so that they could exchange business ideas and contacts in these hard times as well. We have also organized a business forum with Alexandria and we expect to hold business forums with other chambers in the future, primarily regional ones.
In anticipation of a better epidemiological situation and new opportunities for organizing trade fairs and business meetings live, we are continuing to hold online meetings with various chambers of commerce under the auspices of interregional cooperation. We hope that 2021 will give us a chance to achieve better work results and overcome the Covid-19-induced crisis.