Competitiveness of the agri-food sector of the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The competitiveness of the agri-food products is one of the key factors for promoting export and economic development, especially in developing countries. Competitiveness can be influenced by increasing productivity, applying modern knowledge, innovating processing capacities and producing a high-quality final product with high added value. The agriculture of Serbia is very important for economic growth. In order to improve the competitive advantage of the agri-food sector in foreign markets, it is important to increase its efficiency by introducing modern technologies and approaches. The subject of the paper is to examine the most important export agri-food products of Serbia, as well as the most important markets for their exports. Using the RCA and ARCA indices, the comparative advantages of these products in trade were examined, which is the goal of the research. Multiple regression was then also used to examine the impact on exports. Although significant agri-food products achieve comparative advantages, the decline in their competitiveness has a negative impact on exports. Low pricing policies, as well as inadequate product quality cannot maintain competitiveness in the long run. The structure of the export of agricultural products is also unsatisfactory, bearing in mind that they are products with a low level of processing, and low added value. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in modern equipment, develop innovative approaches, such as organic production and the introduction of innovations to improve quality standards, differentiate products and create a final product with high added value, as important prerequisites for improving competitiveness and promoting the export of the agri-food sector.

Taking the Deer by the Antlers: Deer in Material Culture in the Balkan Neolithic

“…740-83). Throughout the Neolithic period, subsistence in the central Balkans was based on animal husbandry, with some differences in species ratios between different regions and through time (Bökönyi 1988;Bulatović 2018;Dimitrijević 2020;Greenfield 1986Greenfield , 2008Orton 2008;Russell 1993). For example, at the site of Divostin, cattle was predominant in both the Early and the Late Neolithic period, followed by sheep, goats, domestic and wild pigs, red deer, dogs, and small numbers of other species (Bökönyi 1988).…”

“…In this paper, three distinct species are encompassed under the term "deer", namely, red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and fallow deer (Dama dama) (Fig- ures 3 and 4), represented in the faunal records in the Balkan area in different ratios (Bulatović 2018; Gorczyk and Karastoyanova 2017;Greenfield 1986;Orton 2008;Russell 1993). They are grouped together because they all have antlers as the most prominent characteristic (Figure 4), which, presumably, also played an important part in both their economic Throughout the Neolithic period, subsistence in the central Balkans was based on animal husbandry, with some differences in species ratios between different regions and through time (Bökönyi 1988;Bulatović 2018;Dimitrijević 2020;Greenfield 1986Greenfield , 2008Orton 2008;Russell 1993). For example, at the site of Divostin, cattle was predominant in both the Early and the Late Neolithic period, followed by sheep, goats, domestic and wild pigs, red deer, dogs, and small numbers of other species (Bökönyi 1988).…”