The importance of fruit and vegetables in the external trade of the Republic of Serbia

The main goal of the research is to consider and compare the importance of fruits and vegetables in external trade in goods of the Republic of Serbia. According to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), "Vegetables and Fruit" is a division that is dominant in Serbian exports of agricultural and food products, and it is necessary to investigate its competitiveness. The key tools used in the analysis are the coverage of imports by exports, then the Contribution to the Trade Balance (CTB) index, as well as the analysis of unit values of exports and imports, in order to compare and evaluate the structure of external trade in fruits and vegetables. The results show that fruit, according to all indicators, has a significantly higher competitiveness compared to vegetables, as well as a higher importance in external trade of goods. This knowledge can serve the creators of agricultural policy to favour the production and exports of fruit products because they can radically improve the structure of total exports, especially when it comes to processed products. Since this is a perennial plantation, the results cannot be expected in a shorter period of time. The previous research has not specifically considered the importance of this segment of agri-food exports and its internal competitiveness (having in mind the applied indicators), which is the main benefit of the study within this paper.