CCIS: Serbia’s exporting potential limited by geopolitical developments

The macroeconomic framework in Serbia remains stable, as do exports, but its potential is limited, given the stagnation in the EU, as the main export market, said Bojan Stanic, Assistant Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS).

– It is also important that the future of using our free trade agreements depends on geopolitics. Trade with Russia continues to decline, and on the other hand, Serbia is managing to significantly diversify its sources of energy supply. Full diversification has also been achieved in terms of oil imports – said Stanic ahead of the second annual conference “International Economic Position of Serbia - MEPS 2025: Challenges and Opportunities in the Current Geopolitical and Trading Reality.”

Stanic stated that the new challenge was how to increase growth rates, which had been halved in 2025 from the expected 4.2% to 2.1%, according to IMF estimates.

– We want to try to keep that rate above two percent, but a lot will depend on the situation on the energy market – he stated.

He pointed out that external events had a greater impact on Serbia’s economic position and that the decline in foreign and direct investments by about 50% was not only the case in the country, but also in the region.

– Of course, the political situation in the country also has an impact - on the one hand, protests, blockades, and on the other, the long wait for the formation of a new government, and in this regard, this is something that foreign investors pay attention to. However, what is happening outside has a greater impact – he stated.

Asked how much trouble small and medium-sized enterprises were in due to the increase in the minimum wage, he said that it was necessary to increase the standard of living in order to strengthen purchasing power, and added that business people were facing problems such as rising energy prices, rising electricity prices and higher rental costs.

Head of the Center for Strategic Analysis, Analytics, Planning and Publications of the CCIS Jelena Vasic stated that there were 17,000 businesses in the country that exported from Serbia, around 136,000 companies, but that “only” one percent of entrepreneurs in the country exported.

She pointed out that she would talk about that at the conference with representatives of institutions, but also about what kind of staff was needed to make exports more successful. She mentioned the digital catalog of exporters of the CCIS, international economic cooperation and e-services of the CCIS and invited business people to register in the digital catalog.

The conference at the CCIS Industry brought together representatives of institutions, academia and the economy to jointly consider Serbia’s position in global economic trends.

The aim of the conference is to address key issues regarding Serbia’s economic positioning in the new trading and geopolitical circumstances.

Privredna komora Srbije

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

CCIS

Bojan Stanić

Jelena Vasić

exports of Serbia