Istraživanje tržišta organskih poljoprivrednoprehrambenih proizvoda u Republici Srbiji / Research of the Market of Organic Agricultural Food Products in the Republic of Serbia

The subject of the dissertation is the research of the market of organic agricultural food products and the analysis of the measures for improving the production and consumption of these products in the Republic of Serbia. The main goal of the research is to gain insight into the current situation in the international and domestic market of organic agricultural food products and to examine and more clearly define certain consumers’ groups and attitudes related to the consumption of these products. In order to achieve this research goal, the dissertation examined consumers' habits, opinions, motives, experiences and attitudes regarding the consumption of organic agricultural food products in the Republic of Serbia. This research was conducted to determine the characteristics of the market of organic products in Serbia, the attitudes, practices and features of different groups of organic food consumers, as well as the factors that influence the purchase of these products. One part of the research is devoted to the analysis of the trends in the production and the market of the food produced in the organic production system in the European Union and the world. Compared to conventional agricultural production, organic production has a number of advantages, especially if the sector is viewed from the perspective of multifunctionality of agricultural production. Multifunctionality of agriculture does not have to be viewed only from the point of view of market relations, but also within the whole range of other functions that agriculture, as a business activity, realizes in rural areas. Production of organic agricultural food products in the world is constantly increasing, as the areas used for organic production are significant growing globally. The trade of organic agricultural food products, as expected, grows mainly in the countries with higher purchasing power, and higher environmental and food health consciousness and habits of the producers. At the same time, there is a significant increase in the demand for this kind of agricultural food products. The Republic of Serbia has significant potential for production of organic agricultural food products. This is due to its natural potentials, awareness of the need for quality in a number of industrial branches; large areas of agricultural land that have not been contaminated or intensely farmed, which can speed up and facilitate the conversion; the positive attitude towards organic farming among university staff, many farmers and consumers, as well as free trade agreements (EFTA, CEFTA, Russian Federation, Belarus, Turkey). However, the population in Serbia is still not sufficiently educated in the field of organic production, there is unfavorable structure of the farms (a large number of small farms, which do not cooperate; aging of the farmers; the traditional approach to production; crisis of the livestock sector), as well as inadequate application of environmental marketing, insufficiently aware and informed consumers, on the one hand, and insufficiently wide assortment, quantity of products and steady offer, on the other. The market of organic food products is characterized mainly by low purchasing power of the population, lack of consumer awareness and low environmental awareness of the population in Serbia. The analysis of the market in Serbia showed great potential to increase the production and exports to foreign markets, while the increasing consumption of these products in the domestic market is still limited by the purchasing power of domestic consumers. On the other hand, problems of the legislative regulation of the sector of organic farming, problems of the regulation of certification bodies, low volume of production, and the fact that still primary, instead of processed organic products are exported, prevents the increase in the value of total exports.