Photo: PixabayThe first international wine fair in Belgrade will be organized by the partner countries, founders of the Open Balkans initiative - Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, from September 1 to 4 at the Belgrade Fair.
This event will be an ideal opportunity to present wine producers and wineries from the entire region to the widest audience and thus ensure even greater visibility on the market. Also, this is an opportunity for all exhibitors to meet, share their experiences and network with distributors and representatives of complementary industries.
“The fair will intertwine the wine routes of the Balkans in a unique way and gather all the best wine producers in the region at one place. It will be organized under the auspices of the governments of Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania as part of the Open Balkans initiative“ the Belgrade Fair announced.
The aim of the fair is to celebrate the superb skill of the masters of wine production and to promote a unique blend of tastes and aromas that represent the spirit of the Balkans itself, its geography and wealth of varieties, as well as the mentality of those who enjoy the wines of this and other climates.
As stated on the website of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, a rich program has been designed and includes the Open Balkan Wine Trophy 2022 fair competition, professional meetings of various formats, masterclasses, discussions on the potential of the wine industry in the Balkans, opportunities for increased participation in global markets, as well as B2B meetings where producers will be given the opportunity to expand their business, establish new and strengthen the existing business contacts.
As the capital of the finest wines during this fair, Belgrade will gather the most eminent winemakers, winegrowers, cellar masters, oenologists, sommeliers and wine merchants, as well as exhibitors from the most prestigious European and world wineries. Wine distributors and merchants from around the world will also be present.
PRODUCTION OF GRAPES AND WINE
The region's joint performance in export business to "third markets", mutual cooperation and investments in new production facilities could additionally position Serbia, as well as the other members of the Initiative, on the world map of wine tours, according to the SCC website.
Serbia has 20,113 ha under vines with a total of 77 vineyards, and new plantings are recorded every year, says Milada Lukasevic from the Association for Plant Production and Food Industry of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
“Serbia produces around 160,000 tons of grapes annually. Grape production last year was at the average level for the last five-year period with“ eight tons per hectare“ Lukasevic says.
Approximately 80,000 agricultural farms are engaged in grape production in Serbia. Out of that number, 47,120 of them are registered in the Register of Agricultural Holdings of the Ministry of Agriculture.
During 2021, there were 430 producers registered for the production of wines that are put on the market. In total, they produced 30 million liters of wine.
“This is the average annual production in the last three years, whereas the possible capacities for wine production in Serbia are at the level of 70 million liters“ she notes.
When it comes to exports, we marketed this "nectar of the gods" abroad in the amount of 16.8 million euros, while imports are considerably higher - 34 million euros.
What is the largest market for Serbian wines?
During last year, over 17% of the total wine exports have been to the European Union market. A significant part was also exported to the market of the Russian Federation. Only last year, 5.5 million liters of wine were exported to Russia, which amounts to 32.5% of the total amount of wine exported in that year.
Also, significant quantities went to Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the largest import was recorded from North Macedonia and EU countries, where we have bought 40% of the total wine import from.
The average age of the leading vineyards in Serbia is 10-19 years.
During 2021, Serbia achieved the largest volume of trade in wine, excluding flavored wine, as was the case in previous years, through exchange within the region of Southeast Europe - the CEFTA market, while imports from this market are still very enunciated - more than 50% of total wine imports.
Source: pks.rs
