A snapshot of Western Balkan’s agriculture from the perspective of EU accession

Abstract

The Western Balkan countries can be characterised by their shared goal, which is rapid accession to the EU. Agriculture is an important element to achieving this goal. The role of agriculture differs widely among the analysed countries but is more important than the average of the EU. This study gives a comprehensive overview of the most important agricultural indicators. These indicators give a precise picture of the sector's relevance, production structure, effi ciency and international relations. After demonstrating changes in input use, production structure, prices and agricultural policies, the next section identifi es some of its reasons. The analysis concentrates on the newest available data. Serbia is the leading producer and the only net exporter of agricultural goods in the region. Nevertheless, the current situation is endangered by several issues, such as unbalanced sectoral production, fragmented production structure, relatively low yields, unfavourable export composition, poor food hygiene and quality control, which indicate that painful and hard actions are needed.

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