Minister of Agriculture Dragan Glamocic announced that the label "100 percent from Serbia" will be introduced, so that consumers can clearly recognize domestic products. I guess that should promote economic patriotism, if not the buyers purchases gave preference to domestic items.
However, the interlocutors of "Vremen" are unanimous in their opinion that Glamočić would be better off dealing with solving real, huge problems in agriculture instead of "wrapping them up in a nice bow" and "selling the fog".
The declarations already say it all.
Dejan Gavrilović from the Consumer Association "Efektiva" reminds that in Serbia there are already regulations that state that the country of origin must also be stated on the product declaration, and that thanks to such a declaration, consumers can be quite clearly informed about the product.
"The big problem is that there are regulations that are good, but no one applies them. For example, there is a regulation that it must be highlighted if the dairy product contains palm oil, but there is still no such notification in retail stores. We have a regulation that the price on the shelf must also be the price at the cash register, but retailers do not apply it and no one fines them," Gavrilović told "Vreme".
He also reminds that the Law on Consumer Protection provides for the sanctioning of misleading and unfair business practices, and that there is also a Rulebook on declaration, labeling and advertising. of all food in the world is wasted, but that omissions are frequent and that the application of regulations is left to the good will of traders and producers.
"If the regulations were respected and their application was controlled, there would be no need to put the label '100 percent from Serbia' on the products. However, since our country often leads some kind of 'national policy', which is actually the sale of fog, the announcement of the action '100 percent from Serbia' seems to me to be the same. So, we already have regulations that define it, but now it is said: 'Let's make it clearer that that label must be there,'" concludes Gavrilović.
Marketing instead of problem solving
Economist Saša Đogović believes that the introduction of the label "100 percent from Serbia" could only marginally affect the increase in sales of domestic products,
"It will not improve the situation in cattle breeding, dairying and agriculture, unless measures of a systemic nature are initiated. Instead of dealing with marketing, the minister of agriculture it should deal with solving systemic problems in agriculture: how to recover livestock and milk production and how to improve production in farming and fruit growing in accordance with climate change and how to invest in irrigation systems," says Đogović.
Photo: FoNetMinister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan
Glamočić
He reminds that there have already been similar campaigns, such as "The best from Serbia" and "Buy local".
"That's why '100 percent from Serbia' is actually plagiarism, and I don't see that it will change anything in particular. The minister was appointed to that position to deal with solving essential problems in agriculture, not wrapping those problems in a nice bow that you think will attract customers, regardless of what's under the bow," Đogović told Vreme.
When asked whether domestic customers, for the sake of economic patriotism, would rather opt for domestic products even if they are more expensive than imported ones, Đogović points out that he believes that this is the case when it comes to meat and meat products.
"I assume that customers will prefer to opt for meat and meat products from Serbia. When it comes to vegetable crops, there are nuances, so we buy many imported products, such as potatoes. Mostly those who are supplied at the markets gravitate towards domestic products, while those who buy from supermarkets look less at what is local, and are more oriented towards prices," says Đogović.
Limiting the import of milk is not a solution in itself
Referring to the hardships of farmers and the misunderstanding of the relevant minister, Đogović notes that the introduction of a surcharge on milk imports has a specific goal, but he emphasizes that he is not sure that this goal is being pursued.
"When levies are placed on milk imports or when quotas are set, which is in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization and the agreements that exist with the European Union, such measures are time-limited and should be used in order to set measures of a systemic nature that would help the recovery of the situation in the country. However, if that 'bulwark' is placed for six months or a year, and nothing is done within the 'bulwark', when the protection is removed, agriculture is back to the same. These measures too will not contribute to the improvement of the situation unless measures of a systemic nature are initiated, and these are certainly not measures such as the introduction of the label '100 percent from Serbia,'" Đogović warns.
Photo: FoNet / Nebojša JovanovićFarmers' protest
The real needs of Serbia are important
Ni farmers they have nothing nice to say about Minister Glamočić's announcement.
So Mileta Slankamenac, one of the founders of the Initiative for the Survival of Serbian Farmers, says that it would be better if the minister dealt with other matters.
"Let the minister deal with cross-border control and inspection work. The mutual relations between buyers and agricultural producers should also be seen, because it is a completely unregulated market. The action '100 percent from Serbia' is not new, and it would be better if the products were adequately labeled, to see which milk is reconstructed and which is domestic. Those marketing tricks are purely smearing the eyes of the public," says Slankamenac for "Vreme".
The president of the Association of Farmers' Associations of Banat, Dragan Kleut, points out that the laboratory for quality control of the imported goods should first be equipped, in order to see if they meet the quality standards in order to enter the Serbian market.
"Imports should be controlled according to the real needs of citizens, and not meat, milk, cereals and vegetables imported from everywhere. The agreement on joining the European Union gives the possibility of controlling imports according to the real needs of a country and protects against the collapse of agriculture. There is a possibility of increasing tariffs in case someone wants to overwhelm you with goods from other countries that have surplus goods," concludes Kleut.
