Fruit and vegetable trade facilitated in CEFTA region

The Joint Committee of CEFTA reached the decision on facilitating the trade of fruit and vegetables in the CEFTA region in Tivat on February 25, and the assistant trade minister of Serbia, Olivera Jocic, said that Serbia had thereby shown, despite Pristina's tariffs on goods from Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, that it still believes in free trade and removal of all barriers.

– Today, we adopted the decision on facilitating the trade of fruit and vegetables in the CEFTA region with great pleasure. Along with Protocol 5, which Serbia has already adopted and ratified, this is an additional instrument for facilitating the trade – Jocic told Tanjug.

She says that the Joint Committee of CEFTA reached the decision despite the circumstances arising from Pristina's 100% tariffs on goods from Serbia, which have been in effect since November 2018.

– Serbia has shown that it believes in removing all barriers and that it wants to support the economic growth not just of its own companies, but of those in the entire region. For that reason, we adopted this decision, which is supposed to facilitate the trade, the export and the import and the transit of fruit and vegetables – Jocic said.

As Jocic emphasizes, Serbia is the first CEFTA party to adopt and ratify the additional Protocol 6 on liberalization of service trade.

This is a new legal instrument, which the National Assembly of Serbia confirmed through a law last week.

This opens room for liberalization of service trade, which also creates new conditions for the growth of the economy, Jocic emphasized.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Narodna skupština Republike Srbije

CEFTA

Olivera Jocić

fruit and vegetable trade

facilitated trade

Protocol 6

liberalization of service trade

CEFTA region