Flour and Yeast Market Stabilizing – Producers Hope for Ban on Export to be Lifted

The market in Serbia has stabilized after a peak in stockpiling flour and yeast. As Novosti learns, after the situation regarding tariffs and transport improved, the first trucks loaded with flour went to Kosovo and Metohija, providing the Serbs living there with sufficient quantities of this vital supply. The government has also approved the export of yeast to Republika Srpska, aiming to fight Covid-19, whereas the export to other markets is banned. However, as Novosti learns, producers and traders believe that the situation is stable now and hope for the ban to soon be lifted.

Flour and yeast have recorded the highest increase in sales in the category of food due to the situation caused by coronavirus. In the third week of march, 482% more flour was bought, and during the fourth week, 282% more flour was bought compared to last year. The sale of yeast jumped by 224.4% and 152.9% respectively, as show by the result of Nielsen' research.

For a while, the state banned the export of flour for the psychological effect only, so as to remove the unnecessary panic among the populace. Serbia is a great exporter of flour and wheat. The reserves of said grain are especially large this year.

– We produce 2.5 to three million tons of wheat a year and, on average, spend 1 to 1.2 million tons for everything we need, including the production of flour – Aleksandar Bogunovic of the CCIS says for Novosti. – That means that we always have a surplus of around 1.5 million tons of wheat, which is exported.

The country now has plentiful reserves of the grain, he points out, as the trade has dropped in the past two and a half months, and the new yield arrives in two and a half months. He explains that, due to the state of emergency, the demand for flour has grown as well and that mills cannot produce enough to fill the stores before they are emptied out. It's very important, he says, that the market has stabilized and that the export has begun.

– The first quantities of flour have already been sent to Kosovo and Metohija – Bogunovic says. – The product is mostly exported to the CEFTA countries. As for the wheat, most of it is transported by ships, which starts in June.

When it comes to yeast, the Senta-based company Biospringer RS is now producing it at full capacity. As they've announced, 450% more small packages and twice as many packages of half a kilogram, meant for bakers, will be available in the market.

The French company Lesaffre, whose consortium includes Biospringer RS, has 60 yeast factories in the world.

The purchase of baking products has increased as well. Industrial bakeries record a 20% higher demand for sliced bread, whereas the demand for fresh bread has dropped.

Biospringer RS d.o.o. Senta

Privredna komora Srbije

Lesaffre RS d.o.o. Beograd

Aleksandar Bogunović

yeast

flour

wheat

export of wheat

export of flour

baking products

bread

sliced bread