Serbia Regional Leader in Production of Pet Food

Dogs and cats from as many as 33 states eat food produced in Serbian factories, and a local company from Petrovac na Mlavi recently started producing juices for dogs, the first company to do so in Europe. According to the data of the Trade Map, the total value of the exports of food for cats and dogs from Serbia amounted to USD 152.47 million last year, which is around 14% more compared to 2021.

The ten countries to which Serbia exported the most in the period from January through April are the Russian Federation, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Greece, Czech Republic, USA, France, Slovakia and Germany, and the exports are higher by 33.6% compared to the same period last year.

The senior adviser at the Association for Livestock Farming and Processing of Livestock Products at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS), Jasna Stevanovic, says that we exported slightly over 17,000 tons of food for cats and dogs, worth EUR 52,805.3 thousand.

She notes that the exports to the Russian Federation more than doubled in the first five months compared to the same period last year. Food for cats and dogs has become the third biggest exporting product from Serbia, with a share of around 4.8% in the total exports to the market of the Russian Federation and it is in the first place when it comes to the export of products from the agricultural and food industry. The value of the exports amounted to EUR 24,906.5 thousand, which is a 117.5% increase compared to the same period in 2022.

– Observed globally, it is projected that the export of pet food will increase around 4.8% until 2024. The markets with the biggest potential for the global export of food for cats and dogs are Germany, the USA and the United Kingdom – says Jasna Stevanovic.

According to the data of the Business Registers Agency, in 2021, a total of 56 companies and entrepreneurs in Serbia exclusively produce pet food and employ around 500 workers.