Serbia has substantially benefited from trade and economic integration with the EU. The EU is traditionally Serbia’s key trading partner accounting for 58.7% of Serbia’s total trade in 2022, with similar percentages persisting over the years. This and more trade data is at the heart of a billboard campaign the EU Delegation recently started throughout Serbia. The billboards illustrate the high importance of the EU to Serbia compared to other trade partners.
Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret points out that Serbia has highly benefited over the years from trading with the EU:
” The value of Serbia’s annual exports to the EU have grown from nearly EUR 3.2 billion in 2009 to just below EUR 18 billion in 2022. That is a growth by almost six times within a period of twelve years. We consider that this and other numbers need to be better known in the Serbian public.”
EU-Serbia trade in goods has been on persistent rise for years and it has reached a total of almost EUR 40 billion-worth of bilateral trade last year.
Concerning trade in agricultural products, Serbia enjoys a surplus vis-à-vis the EU. This surplus reached its all-time-high in 2021 at EUR 688 million. The EU market traditionally represents the most important export destination for Serbian agricultural products with over 50% of Serbia’s total agricultural exports shipped to the EU in previous years. Again, this is a continuation of years-long trend.
The EU companies are by far Serbia’s biggest foreign investors accounting for around 60% of total Foreign Direct Investment registered in the period 2010-2022. This translates into more than EUR 20.5 billion worth of investments coming from the EU in the period 2010-2022.
Companies from the EU employ approximately 300.000 people in Serbia directly, while indirectly a much larger proportion of Serbian citizens are employed in companies and Small and Medium sized Enterprises that work with the EU investors as their suppliers or clients along different value chains.
The billboards with trade data are visible in 42 locations across Serbia.
