Propositions of Chambers of Commerce of Serbia and Croatia Soon Before Governments – Construction of Joint Rail Terminal and Increase of Capacities of Batrovci-Bajakovo Checkpoint

The concrete propositions of the chambers of commerce of Serbia and Croatia, agreed in Vinkovci, will soon be put before the governments of the two countries, announced the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS).

The president of the CCIS, Marko Cadez, and the president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), Luka Burilovic, announced, following a meeting with experts from both business associations, that this included the realization of the existing projects of improving the gas infrastructure for the purpose of energy supply security.

The construction of a joint rail terminal of Serbia and Croatia, which would reduce big traffic jams, unload road traffic and reduce the waiting at border checkpoints, has also been proposed, the announcement says.

Cadez said that the two chambers would also propose to the governments and the relevant ministries a set of measures which could quickly produce results directed at an increase of the capacities of the Batrovci-Bajakovo checkpoint, so as to reduce the waiting and accelerate the traffic.

He said that the propositions also included smaller infrastructural investments which would solve the problems of the capacity of that checkpoint in the long term.

Cadez said that the average waiting time for freight trucks at the Batrovci-Bajakovo checkpoint was around six hours, creating large additional costs for companies.

According to him, last year, 378,000 trucks crossed that checkpoint in both directions.

He emphasized that less waiting, the acceleration of customs procedures and the harmonization of the operations of the customs services on all checkpoints would make the operations more efficient and companies more competitive.

– Our economies are compatible and more connected than we think, whether we’re talking raw materials, semi-products, or production. We want to come up with concrete things, with new ideas, but also to respond to the challenges together – Cadez emphasized.

He pointed out that Croatia could be “a hub for Serbian exports and imports”.

Burilovic pointed out the excellent cooperation of the two chambers and reminded that HGK had opened an office in Belgrade in 2018.

– We have only six offices abroad, and this one in Belgrade shows clearly how important the Serbian market is to us – Burilovic said.

He said that the economic cooperation of Croatia and Serbia had the potential to be even better, and that global events such as the conflict in Ukraine put both economies before the same problems, to which, he estimated, solutions and answers should be sought together.

Other important topics discussed by representatives of the sector associations of the chambers of commerce of Serbia and Croatia with Cadez and Burilovic are also cooperation in construction and joint ventures in third markets, the CCIS announced.

Another field in which there are great possibilities for a more intensive cooperation between the economies of Serbia and Croatia is certainly agriculture, with a focus on digitization projects and product promotion, the press release says.

In the first trimester of 2022, the foreign trade exchange between Serbia and Croatia amounted to EUR 378.8 million, which is EUR 106.2 million or 38.8% more than in the same period last year.

Serbian exports were worth EUR 205.2 million, which is 53.3 million or 35% more than last year.

Last year, the total goods exchange between Serbia and Croatia amounted to EUR 1.337 billion and was 25% higher than in 2020.

The meeting in Vinkovci is a result of the talks had by Cadez and Burilovic in Zagreb on May 9, and new meetings with representatives of the executive authorities of Serbia and Croatia have been announced as well.

Privredna komora Srbije

HGK - Hrvatska gospodarska komora Zagreb

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

CCIS

Croatian Chamber of Economy

HGK

Luka Burilović

Marko Čadež

construction of joint rail terminal

increase of capacities of Batrovci Bajakovo border checkpoint

cooperation in construction

foreign trade exchange

hub for Serbian exports and imports