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Successful Presentation of Macedonian Products at
the Novi Sad International Agricultural Fair
 USAID’s
AgBiz Program, in partnership with the
Macedonian Ministry of Economy, the German
Technical Assistance program and the Macedonian
Association of Processors, helped leading
Macedonian exporters of agriculture based
products to enhance their regional presence by
enabling them to participate in the
“International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad”
Serbia.
The International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad
is the largest agricultural fair in Southeast
Europe. This year at the 75th International
Agricultural Fair more than 2,000 exhibitors
presented state-of-the-art agricultural
mechanization and equipment, the best food
products from the Balkan region and top-quality
livestock. Around 600,000 visitors attended the
8-day event. The main benefits of this vast
event for the participants were the numerous
successful business meetings they conducted, and
the record number of contracts they made that
will yield results in at least the year
following the Fair.
 Eleven
companies including Best Foods - Radovish; Agro
Komerc 92 - Strumica; KIM Quality - Kavadarci;
Koro,Tea - Skopje; Tehnoalat– Gevgelija ; Bonum
Plus - Skopje; Vitalia - Skopje; Dim Komerc –
Valandovo; Makprogres from Vinica; Gema plas –
Gevelija and Nimeks SA- Shtip exhibited in the
jointly supported stand of the Macedonian
Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy (MAFWE)
and USAID’s AgBiz Program.
AgBiz played an important role in facilitating
coordination between the companies exhibiting
and the vendor designing and constructing the
stand. The GTZ MAFP program provided logistic
support for Fair participants, helped
participants prepare for the Fair and was be
responsible for PR before and during the Fair.
These AgBiz supported customers established new
trade links, strengthened existing ones, and
gained first-hand knowledge on the packaging,
labeling, value adding and technology upgrades
that will lead to their further economic
success.
AgBiz also supported 45 farmers from all over
the country, representing the “Association of
Agricultural Techniques of the Republic of
Macedonia” to participate in the Fair with the
objective of what they learn making a valuable
contribution to the competitiveness and
profitability of their businesses.
Ajvar” and “lutenica” were the most popular
products at the Macedonian booth. Taste tasting
was organized during the fair days for visitors
to sample these products. And Serbian consumers
once again confirmed how positively they feel
about Macedonian’s most recognized specialties.
“This fair is outstanding; the right place for
each farmer to be! Farmers from Kumanovo in the
north to Kavadarci in the south were surprised
at what they saw. The latest trends in tractors,
equipment attachments and types of irrigations
systems were presented by the very best
manufacturing companies in the US and EU” said
Mr. Zivko Davcev, President of the Association
of Agriculture Techniques of the Republic of
Macedonia.
Three AgBiz’ staff members participated in the
Fair and supported AgBiz customers to identify
new sales opportunities in the region, assess
markets and enhance their trading positions.
They also helped customers make new contacts
with both buyers as well as suppliers of inputs,
and identified potential competitiveness
enhancement activities for the Program. AgBiz
will provide follow-up assistance to the food
processing and/or marketing participants to
utilize the experience they gained at the Novi
Sad Fair to develop the business contacts
initiated into sustainable business.
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