“We constantly adopt new production technologies and invest in the development and quality of products,” says Timomed Director Srbislav Vidojević
Knjaževac-based company Timomed d.o.o. (Ltd.) was founded in 1989 and grew from being a basic organisation of collaborators to become a limited liability company. Timomed is one of Serbia’s most renowned honey producers, selling 30 per cent of its total production on the markets of Europe, America and the Middle East. According to company director Vidojević, collaborators are vital to the production, and Timomed has around 400 of them. This is especially so when it comes to honey, propolis, pollen powder and royal jelly.
– Our honey is produced in the Timok Frontier (Timočka Krajina) region, which is an ecologically clean area and consumers know that. That’s why, among other things, we protected the name and built a recognisable brand. Otherwise, our apiary, with about 500 hives, has developed into our Centre for the selection and reproduction of queen bees.
Our goal is to achieve annual sales of around 1,000 tonnes of different types of honey – acacia, meadow, floral, linden, forest. I would add that our country’s policy of beekeeping subsidies is very important to us. Considering the importance of exports for the state, it would be a good idea for subsidies to be even higher, because that would prompt beekeepers to opt for even more hives and, thus, higher exports.
I also advocate, in the context of assistance to beekeeping, that account be taken of the fact that vehicles for the transport of bees have to be registered for a full year, even though these vehicles are used for practically only three months. I think producers and the state could find a better solution than the existing one.
In your opinion, how dedicated is the state, or its competent services, to the fight against producers of fake honey, or how carefully does the state protect serious producers like you?
– Honey is honey and can be nothing else. The Guidelines regulate the issue of honey quality and only in that way can it be sold on domestic and foreign markets. Our Guidelines on honey quality are harmonised with the European Union’s procedural rules. The state, with its veterinary inspection bodies, ensures and controls the quality of honey on our market. The state is determined to fight any bad quality honey or the falsification of honey, and results are already evident.
Our honey is produced in the Timok Frontier region, an ecologically clean area, and that’s why we built a recognisable brand that consumers trust
Thus, in the local market, there is only pure natural honey and nothing more. When it comes to the quality of our products, Timomed primarily possesses its own facility, which adheres to all standards for honey packaging and, as such, represents an example to other companies in Serbia. We have certified ISO, HACAP, HALAL and KOSHER standards for emerging markets around the world. We were the first to break through the barriers opening the way to new markets while respecting all standards and guidelines for any country around the world.
One of the latest Timomed products is organic honey. Considering that you’ve won numerous awards for honey quality generally, why do you emphasise “organic”; how exactly does this product differ from others that you sell on domestic and foreign markets?
– Organic honey is produced and controlled according to prescribed standards of good manufacturing practise and has certificates obtained from certification bodies. It is natural honey, produced according to the rules of organic production. Considering that we are situated on the ecologically clean territory of Stara Planina, in the last two years we directed some of our associates towards organic production. Our plan for the coming period is to produce and sell in excess of 100 tonnes of organic honey on the domestic and foreign markets.