Consumption of organic food significantly lower than in the EU

Consumers in EU countries spend significantly more on organic food than those in Serbia. Serbian news portal AgroNews reported that in Europe the average consumption in this category is around € 50 per capita, while in some countries, such as the Netherlands, it can reach € 300. In Serbia, the average consumption of organic food is € 2.4 per capita.

Professor Dr Branislav Vlahović from the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad said Serbia should increase the area used for organic production. There are now 24,000 hectares of agricultural land used for organic production in Serbia. According to Vlahović, this figure can be seen in two ways: “Compared to previous years, this is a significant increase. The area dedicated to organic production in 2015 was around 15,000 hectares, which means that there has been an increase. This is good, but on the other hand, if Serbia wants to compare itself with neighboring countries and countries in the region, the areas under organic production are still low.

Dr Vlahović compares the size of organic agricultural land in Serbia to that of its neighbors: “Slovenia has 50,000 ha of organic agricultural land, in Croatia this figure is 90,000 ha, in Hungary around 300,000 ha, in Romania , that’s almost 400,000 ha. “

The largest share of organic food production in Serbia is represented by the cultivation of fruits and grapes: around a third.

Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl

Source of photos: Dreamstime.com