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Serbia’s 2009 “Law on Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs)” prohibits the importation and commercial production of genetically engineered crops. While Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has prepared a more forward-leaning “Law on GEOs” amendment in 2018, the current Serbian government has not considered adoption of this revision.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2024/25 are forecast to reach 4.25 MMT, an increase of 2 percent over marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

The major export certificates required by Saudi Arabia’s regulatory and import control agencies are included in this Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) - Certificates Report. These certificates are required for the importation of food and agricultural products into the Kingdom. Information in this report supplements the FAIRS Annual Country Report.

Saudi Arabia has published numerous regulations and standards over the years. While many of these regulations (both mandatory and voluntary) were notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), most were immediately implemented making it difficult for U.S. exporters to adjust or comment.

Saudi Arabia is a major market ($1.55 billion) for U.S. food and agricultural products, and there are plenty of opportunities to export a wide range of new-to-market U.S. food products.

Serbia’s Marketing Year (MY) 2024/25 wheat area is forecast at 625,000 hectares (HA), 14 percent lower than the previous year. If the predicted yield of 5 MT/HA is achieved, wheat production is expected to reach 3.1 Million Metric Tons (MMT).

With the development of several billion-dollar projects and nearly 30 million visitors a year, the future for U.S. grain exports is bright. Post anticipates Saudi rice imports to increase approximately five percent over the next several years due to expansions in the food service sector.

Serbia offers good opportunities for the U.S. exporters of consumer-oriented agriculture products. From January-October 2023, total U.S. exports of agriculture products to Serbia reached $22.6 million, an increase of about 16 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

This report provides a guide to the certificate requirements for agricultural and food products intended for export to Serbia.

This report provides insights into Serbian regulations and standards pertaining to food, agriculture, agricultural products, and foreign trade. It covers topics such as labeling, packaging, food additives, and import procedures.

After over a decade, Serbia still has not implemented changes to its “Law on Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs),” which was adopted in 2009. Even though Serbia prepared an amended “Law on GEOs” in 2018, changes to this are not on the list of possible adoptions created by the current Serbian Government.