USDA Experts Help Serbia Improve Grades and Standards System for Fruit and Vegetable Export

May 15, 2009

The Office of the Foreign Agriculture Service at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia, will organize training workshops on "Grades and Standards of Agricultural Products in Serbia," and will be held in Belgrade, Hotel Balasevic from May 14-15, and at the Fruit Research Institute in Cacak, from May 18-19.

U.S. experts will work with officials from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Institute for Standardization, Serbian Association for Fruits and Vegetables, as well as many Serbian fruit producers, processors and exporters to address issues related to product grading systems and standardization in international trade, as well as corresponding legislation issues.

The training workshop will be conducted by a team of USDA experts led by Clemen Gehlhar of the Office for Capacity Building and Development of the Foreign Agricultural Service. USDA marketing experts Dorian La Fond, Nathaniel Taylor and Randle Macon will share their expertise on the existing standards of the United Nations / Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA grades and standards). As product quality is the key to successful penetration in international food markets, grades and standards are used as a common trading language and reference for quality control, both for buyers and for sellers. Thus the introduction and implementation of a viable grading and standards system will enhance Serbia's position in the international export market.

For more information, please contact Mr. Zlatko Jovanovic, Agricultural Specialist at the Agricultural Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade at 011 306 4813.