Serbia: Growers Say Imports Now Cover About 40% of Potato Needs as Local Area Shrinks
The head of the Plodovi Srbije association says Serbia has become a potato importer, relying mainly on Belgium, the Netherlands and France, even though this year's domestic crop is better than last year's.
Serbia now covers about 40% of its potato needs with imports, mainly from Belgium, the Netherlands and France, according to Ratko Vukićević, president of the growers’ association Plodovi Srbije. He told Serbian media on 21 September that the country is now “on the list of potato importers”.
Vukićević said this year’s crop is better than last year’s, with yields of 25–30 tonnes per hectare in hilly areas. Domestic production is estimated at 500,000–600,000 tonnes a year, of which 70,000–80,000 tonnes can be lost in storage, he said.
Growers are receiving 45–50 dinars per kilogram at the farm gate, while potatoes sell in shops for about 100 dinars or more. Agro-economist Žarko Galetin put production costs at 800,000 to one million dinars per hectare.
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The daily Danas framed the story around shrinking potato areas, which growers blame on imports sold at what they call dumping prices. Both Danas and Nova Ekonomija also printed a national area figure, but that number is inconsistent with the stated output and is not used here.
The figures quoted are statements by the association and an independent economist rather than official statistics. Serbia’s statistical office has not published a 2026 potato estimate in the sources reviewed.
The three suppliers named by Vukićević — Belgium, the Netherlands and France — are among the countries whose own 2026 harvest has been cut by drought. potatoes.news has reported on the resulting price rises in the Netherlands and Germany (PotatoNL quotation). A shortage in the exporting countries is likely to make imported potatoes more expensive for Balkan buyers later in the season.
At the prices quoted, shoppers pay roughly twice what growers receive at the farm gate.
Why it matters
A country that relies on north-west Europe for two-fifths of its potatoes is exposed when that region runs short. With storage losses already high, Serbian consumers and processors could pay more this winter, while local growers argue for support to rebuild area.
Photo: Farmland of Vojvodina, Serbia, seen by the Sentinel-2A satellite (illustrative). ESA / Copernicus Sentinel-2A / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
