At the sitting held on 22 September, the Agriculture Committee members discussed the Information of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management on the soybeans, sunflower, corn and sugar beet harvest and prices in 2009.

The Information was presented by Minister Sasa Dragin who said that due to favourable meteorological conditions this year’s cereal crops ripened earlier, consequently enabling an earlier harvest. By the beginning of September, 2% of this year’s corn yield had already been harvested, as well as 70% of the sunflower yield, 36% of soybeans and 2.6% of sugar beets. This year’s expected corn production amounts to 6,600,000 tons, soybeans 352,000 tons, and sugar beets 3,055,000 tons. The expected sunflower yield is 376,000 tons, keeping in mind that 20% less has been planted this year than the previous. Minister Dragin stated that the Ministry of Agriculture monitors the prices of agricultural products on the markets in the region, adding that so far Serbia’s shows no major deviations, making any interventions unnecessary. The problem of difference in quality between domestic and foreign products still exists, and the prices on the world market remain low due to the impact of the world economic crisis. The price of soybeans is higher this year, the price of corn in Serbia will be about 8.50 RSD, of sunflower around 16.00 RSD, and all indicators point that this year’s price of sugar beets shall be higher. He informed the Committee members that the Ministry’s action regarding the procurement of fertilizer for agricultural producers had been effective because the price of fertilizer dropped by 20%. Regarding subsidies, even though the budget rebalance cut the agrarian budget, the farmers were provided with funds for the beginning of work and all remaining debts were paid off. The Ministry’s plan is to realise all the subsidies by the end of October this year. The Minister also informed the Committee members about launching a campaign to increase the traffic safety of drivers of agricultural machines, which gathered wide public support. The Minister also stressed that in the upcoming period the Ministry of Agriculture plans to forward bills on waters, forests, veterinary medicine, game and hunting, beer, agricultural services and organic production, into assembly procedure.

Discussing the Information, the Committee members objected to the way buy-out prices are formed and the existence of monopoly. Also, they raised the issue of passing legal regulations to protect primary agricultural producers, as well as questions concerning Serbia’s poor trade with the Republic of Srpska. It was stressed that monopoly, incorrect privatization of processing capacities and unsatisfactory association of individual agricultural producers are the causes of the grave agricultural situation, as well as the appalling position of individual producers.

Following the discussion, the Committee members adopted the Information of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management on the soybeans, sunflower, corn and sugar beet harvest and prices in 2009 by a majority of votes and concluded that the relevant Ministry should, within legal limits, help strengthen the associations of individual agricultural producers, provide more public warehouses for agricultural produce and help the associations negotiate a more favourable procurement of agricultural mechanization from the distributors.

By the end of the sitting, the Committee Chairman had briefed the Committee members on the received proposals, and the Committee also agreed in principle to hold one of its upcoming sittings in Novi Pazar. Committee Deputy Chairman Sinisa Stamenkovic briefly informed his colleagues about the meeting between the representatives of the Agriculture Committee and the delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.

The sitting was chaired by Zoran Masic, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee.