Key topics of the “Global Crisis and Food Market in Serbia” panel included the situation in our country regarding wheat and corn sowing activities and export to Russia
“Large companies, such as the MK Group, procured part of raw materials for this year on time,” noted Miloš Mijović, MK Agriculture GM, adding that the MK Group, within its MK Farming Division, cultivates 12,500 ha of corn, wheat, sugar beet, soy, seed crops and vegetables.
“Wheat was sown on around 620,000 hectares in Serbia, or five percent more than last year. An estimated yield is about three million tonnes of wheat, with domestic needs ranging around 1,700,000 tonnes. We also expect corn sowing activities on about 950,000 hectares. Forecasts say that Serbia’s agricultural sector will produce around seven million tonnes of corn,” underlined MK Agriculture GM.
Mijović pointed out that the situation with crops is satisfying: “Winter crops are in a good condition, and sowing of winter ones is being finalised. In the winter months, we had three times less precipitation at our locations than the annual average, with only 30l of rain. As a result, we started with summer crop sowing activities, which were delayed due to low temperatures in March, on dry land. However, although precipitation in the last two to three weeks has not been sufficient, it still has had a positive impact on crop growth and development.”
In regard to the export of goods to Russia, which is significant for MK Agriculture, the situation is impeded, primarily due to longer transport times.
“We export fresh apples from our Agrounija and the Flora program of frozen fruit and vegetables to Russia. In recent years, we have made a huge step forward in marketing our products in foreign markets, primarily the Middle East and North Africa. I would especially like to thank the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, led by Marko Čadež, for support in the expansion of Serbian products to new markets,” said Mijović.