Croatian and Serbian Business People Proposing Construction of Rail Border Control Station for Acceleration of Customs Checks

Shorter supply chains and the strengthening of the cooperation in the sectors of commerce and agriculture between Croatia and Serbia have a big role in the prosperity of both those economies, it was said at the meeting of the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, held in Vinkovci with representatives of the Vukovar-Srijem County, the Customs Administration and the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia, announced the Croatian Chamber of Economy. There was also talk about the possibility of the construction of a border control station for rail traffic.

– The optimization of the traffic at border crossings, especially when it comes to veterinarian and phytosanitary checks, is a priority issue for the business communities of the two countries. On the border with Serbia, there is only one border control station, the road one at Bajakovo, which overloads the traffic and results in business people on both sides of the border facing long delays – clarified Mirjana Cagalj, the vice-president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy for construction and transport.

There was also talk about the possibility of the construction of a border control station for rail traffic. As the location for the rail border control station, the Tovarnik-Sid crossing is being considered. And although the Customs Administration and the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia have shown good will and confirmed it at the meeting, the European Commission is to give the green light.

Croatia is Serbia’s eighth biggest economic partner. According to the 2023 data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the total goods trade between Croatia and Serbia amounted to EUR 1,945 million in the first 10 months.

– We believe that shortening the supply chains, that is, nearshoring, is necessary for the realization of the full potentials of the cooperation of our two countries. We have analyzed the statistical data according to which freight vehicles entering and exiting Serbia generate a multimillion cost in euros on an annual level while waiting. I therefore emphasize that there is a joint interest of companies for the construction of a rail border control station. Our two chambers will work on finding alternative solutions, so that we would improve the economic relations as much as possible – said Nenad Djurdjevic, the adviser to the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.

Import of Croatian pork to Serbia still banned

Croatian pork producers complained at the meeting that they had no “exit point”, because the ban on the import of pork from the whole Croatia was still in effect in Serbia, due to the African swine fever.

– For Hungary, which has been in a similar situation as us, Serbia lifted the ban some time ago under the condition of submitting a statement saying that the meat did not come from an affected area. Our producers appeal to the decision-makers in the Republic of Serbia to relax the ban for us too, that is, to allow the import of pork from Croatia under the condition that it is heat-treated at a minimum temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. This easing alone would be of great importance for many producers – said Josip Zaher, the adviser to the president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, and added that he believed that there would be understanding from the other side regarding that challenge, as well as the one pertaining to customs and administration difficulties in doing business with Serbia.

HGK - Hrvatska gospodarska komora Zagreb

Privredna komora Srbije

Croatian Chamber of Economy

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Mirjana Čagalj

Josip Zaher

Nenad Đurđević

construction of rail border control station

shortening of supply chains

nearshoring

Tovarnik Šid border crossing