At the sitting held on 9 November, the Agriculture Committee members considered the Information of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management on the 2010 autumn crop sowing and soybeans, sunflower, corn and sugar beet harvest and prices in 2010.

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Milos Milovanovic presented the Information to the Committee members stressing that this year’s extremely favourable weather conditions resulted in a 90% harvest finalization. The average yield is on a mild rise this year compared to the previous by 7% in corn, 2.4% in sunflower, 33.4% in soybeans and 14.6% in sugar beet compared to the 2009 yield. Corn was sown on 1,234,000 ha and the expected yield is about 5.5 tons per ha which meets the needs of the domestic market and export. The 67,000 ha under sugar beet are expected to yield about 470,000 tons of sugar, and with the domestic needs being 250,000 tons, the rest can be exported. The prices of all the crops are higher this year, and the wheat export price will soon reach the one in Budapest. All of this confirms that Serbia does not lag behind the best producers, concluded Milovanovic.

As far as sowing is concerned, a larger area is expected to be sown than last year i.e. about 550,000 ha under wheat, 70,000 ha under barley, 20,000 ha under other cultures, 6,000 ha under rape seed and 30,000 under cattle feed. The Ministry will subsidise mineral fertilizers this year too i.e. 150,000 tons will be subsidised by 10,000.00 RSD pet ton making the fertilizer more accessible to agricultural producers. This year’s agricultural surfeit in the first nine months amounts to 750 million USD, which is more than last year, and is expected to rise by the end of the year, concluded Assistant Minister Milovanovic.

Debating the item on the agenda, the Committee members exchanged opinions on the yield and sowing in some Serbian districts; expressed concern about the yield per ha of some cultures, primarily sunflower; concern about the agricultural producers’ debts for last year’s sowing; problems caused by natural disasters. Also, the Committee members commended the subsidised mineral fertilizer as a stimulus for the producers and sowing of wheat on larger areas considering the probable shortage of the culture on the world market next year as well, providing the Serbian producers with a good chance for export. They also discussed the reasons for exporting sugar beet, decreased rape seed sowing, functioning of public warehouses, price of soybean meal, as well as the measures implemented by the Government to prompt the resolution of agricultural problems.

Following the debate, the Committee members concluded that the Committee had been informed on the 2010 autumn crop sowing and soybeans, sunflower, corn and sugar beet harvest and prices in 2010.

The Committee Chairman went on to brief the Committee members on the memos of the Economy, Russia and Serbia Civic Association; Union of Jablanica and Pcinje District Farming Cooperatives and Municipality of Becej.

The Economy, Russia and Serbia Civic Association approached the Agriculture Committee for financial support and the Committee concluded to forward the memo to the Ministry of Trade and Services and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management for further action as these issues do not fall within the Committee’s purview.

The Union of Jablanica and Pcinje District Farming Cooperatives approached the Committee regarding the problems of ownership transfer from one association to another, so the Committee concluded it was not competent in this case and sent a memo to the Economic Register Agency and Ministry of Economy and Regional Development requesting that the Ministry submit a law on cooperatives into procedure post haste, as well as a report to the Committee on the progress of the inter-sector task group drafting the law which would be discussed in one of the upcoming Committee sittings.

In its request, the Municipality of Becej appeals for assistance for its farmers who had suffered subterranean water damage. In this case too, the Committee decided to send a memo to the competent ministry and Agricultural Damage Estimate Commission for further action.

By the end of the sitting the Committee had also decided to send the requests of the Vojvodina Cooperative Union to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, obliging the Ministry to inform the submitter and the Committee of the result. The Committee members also agreed to consider the information on the agricultural producers’ obligations stemming from the EU and CEFTA regulations and coming into force next year at one of the upcoming sittings.

The sitting was chaired by Zoran Masic, Committee Chairman.