Antonio Ventresca, Director Of The Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ITA)

After enduring challenging times due to the pandemic, Italy and Serbia are intensively seeking new avenues for commercial and industrial collaboration, whether through the establishment of Italian-Serbian joint ventures or Italian direct investments in new production and technological processes

Italy has long been one of Serbia’s largest trade and economic partners. According to 2022 data, about 1,200 Italian companies are currently registered in Serbia and have created a combined total of as many as 50,000 jobs. Credit for this cooperation is recognised as belonging to the Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ITA), which has been operating in Serbia for 25 years and presents a link between Italian companies and all major stakeholders in the Serbian market.

“The main purpose of the ITA is to promote Italian industry and disseminate the most modern Italian technologies and design in Serbia; to foster – through economic missions of Italian companies – not only the development of trade relations, but also new patterns of industrial cooperation,” says Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ITA) Director Antonio Ventresca.

How consolidated are Italian companies in the areas of infrastructure development, green energy and agriculture in Serbia? In which sectors is it possible to identify the scope for expansion?

After the challenges of the last few years, we believe that there are significant opportunities for future commercial and industrial collaboration: whether through processing under contract (production of semi-finished products and components, drying services, turning etc.) or through the establishment of Italian-Serbian joint ventures or Italian direct investments associated with new production and technological processes. Lastly, there are also other forms of collaboration based on the provision of machinery, equipment and new technology.

With regard to green energy, Italy is the most prominent foreign country in Serbia, particularly with regard to wind power, while several Italian companies play important roles in other renewable energy sectors. We therefore believe firmly that green energy is one of the sectors that offers the greatest potential for cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Gori also mentioned the investment potential of Italian companies in agriculture and food safety. Have You received inquiries from interested investors? What specific sectors of agriculture interest them?

The agriculture and food sectors are always among our office’s priorities when it comes to new initiatives and activities. Among the many Italian companies that seek our assistance in inquiring about Serbian agriculture, there is an increasing number of requests pertaining to standards, food safety, labelling, import and export legislations, issuance of quality certificates. But we also receive more advanced questions regarding the latest technologies and the possibility of applying them in Serbia.

Could You provide more information on the resources and expertise that Italian companies possess in this sector, and how they could be used in the case of Serbia?

Italian companies excel in the latest, cutting-edge agricultural technologies: ranging from precision agriculture, to new breeding techniques, to advances in genomics and optimisation, thanks in part to Italy’s world-renowned tradition of machine building.

We are confident that, through the advancement and modernisation of the agricultural and food sectors, Serbia will be able to drastically increase its exports to EU Countries, including Italy

The recently concluded International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad and workshops were a great starting point to promote cooperation at all levels, from scientific institutions to foreign trade companies, to new opportunities in various fields that intersect with agriculture-engineering, IT, start-ups and so on.

Italy traditionally participates in the Novi Sad International Agricultural Fair, which this year celebrated its 90th anniversary. How did you prepare for this anniversary?

The Agricultural Fair, which this year took place from 20th to 26th May, was attended by 21 Italian companies in the sector, which had an exhibition space of 500 square metres inside Hall 1.

Italy wants to continue strengthening its economic relations with Serbia, starting with the agri-food sector, focusing strongly on agricultural technology and the export of agricultural machinery, a sector in which we are Serbia’s second largest supplier, with exports having exceeded a value of 50 million euros in 2022, up 26.6 per cent compared to 2021. Italian participation in the Novi Sad Fair, in addition to including two seminars dedicated to food quality and safety and new technologies in agriculture, was this year enriched by the Week of Italian Culture in Novi Sad, organised by the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade.

The Serbian agribusiness sector’s exports to Italy are currently 10 times lower than imports. What measures should be taken to at least partially reverse this trend?

We are confident that, through the advancement and modernisation of the agricultural and food sector – in terms of the improvement of machinery, adoption of standards, development and implementation of the latest technologies in food processing and packaging – as well as the increase of sustainable production based on the latest scientific trends, Serbia will be able to drastically increase its exports to EU Countries, including Italy.

Our main goal, besides helping and supporting Italian companies, is to provide Serbian companies, institutes and institutions with all information pertaining to what Italy has to offer, and to facilitate this transition on both sides. Italy and Serbia are, in our opinion, very compatible countries when it comes to food production, and I’m sure that the future is very bright and that we will very soon see the results of our recent activities.