Improving the poultry sector in Serbia: major economic constraints and opportunities

Poultry production is an important livestock sector in Serbia. It accounts for about 12% of the total value of country's livestock production. Providing relatively cheap food of high quality it is nowadays of particular importance due to economic transition problems and the consequent economic crisis that the country has faced since the beginning of the 1990s. However, despite the sector's importance, poultry production has actually had no institutional support for many years, and the poultry population, as well as broiler meat and table eggs production, has significantly declined over the last two decades. The sector is characterized by insufficient level of concentration, specialization, vertical integration and efficiency. It is estimated that small-scale farms and backyard poultry production in Serbia account for more than half of poultry meat production and two thirds of egg production, with a significant seasonal impact on local markets. The following paper gives an overview of both commercial and small-scale poultry production in Serbia and examine the major economic constrains to and opportunities for poultry sector improvement needed in view of Serbia's prospective EU integration.