VIP FUND: EUR 2 billion worth of investments in agriculture in Vojvodina

Director of the Vojvodina Investment Promotion (VIP) Fund Branislav Bugarski said on Monday in Novi Sad that 45 foreign companies operating in the province had invested about EUR 2 billion in the field of agribusiness.

Mr. Bugarski said at the conference Potentials for Investment in Agribusiness Sector in Vojvodina, held within the scope of the 78th International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, that about 12,000 people were employed with foreign agribusiness companies in Vojvodina.

- Our wish is to take the advantage of the presence of exhibitors from 60 countries and present them the agribusiness potentials of Vojvodina in the whole system of production - said Bugarski.

He added that VIP Fund was paying a special attention to Vojvodina-based agricultural companies whose privatization contracts had been terminated, with the aim of returning them to the market and enabling them to find a new owner.

Tamer Tercirlioglu, the director general of the Japan Tobacco International (JTI) plant in Senta, assessed that Serbia and Vojvodina had the potential to grow quality tobacco as one of rare agricultural products that was always in demand in the market of Serbia and represented a great export opportunity for the country.

- JTI has this year signed contracts in Serbia for the production of tobacco on 1,700 ha. Last year JTI exported about USD 11 million worth of tobacco and about USD 8 million worth of cigarettes - Tecirlioglu said and added that the state's clear support was necessary to continue the growth of tobacco production and refining.