Search Results for: Serbian

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

INTRODUCTION

The textile industry is one of the world’s oldest manufacturing sector, yet it is also one of the most dynamic, constantly reinventing itself. Today, the development of micro-factories might herald root-and-branch change in how the textile and clothing industry operates, a transformation driven by advances in digital textile printing.…

DURING the Yugoslav wars and their aftermath, the government of Serbia President Slobodan Milošević, and his family, were accused of laundering millions of dollars from Serbia, notably to Cyprus – see https://www.tax-news.com/news/Cyprus_Traces_Two_Accounts_Linked_To_Milosevics_Alleged_Money_Laundering_Activities____3063.html. Today, 20 years after the fall from power of the man held responsible for whipping up the nationalism that broke up Yugoslavia, Serbia’s AML/CFT affairs are more prosaic.…

WORRIES about the future of manufacturing in Europe are certainly not being applied to the continent’s nonwovens industry, which has been growing steadily in recent years. Indeed, last year, the overall production of nonwovens in Europe in 2018 grew by around 1.3% year-on-year to reach 2.76 million tonnes, (the most recent Europe wide figures released by industry association EDANA).…

FAR from being the zone of volatility of the 1990s, eastern and central Europe’s economies and hence their paint and coatings markets, are enjoying stability and steady growth. In Croatia, for instance, according to market researcher Euromonitor International data, the paint and coating industry posted revenues of USD147 million, USD 2 million more than in 2017.…

The construction of the Serbian section of a gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria, enabling transfers of between 1 and 1.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually from Bulgaria to Serbia and 150 million bcm from Serbia to Bulgaria is to be financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB).…

AFTER years of slow growth since 2008, eastern Europe’s now mature cosmetics and personal care market has continued to show marginal gains in products sales in the past year, according to experts.

The region’s cosmetics and personal care products sales edged to USD23.67 billion in 2017 from USD21.74 billion in 2016, counting sales in Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Georgia.…

THE NUMBER of Turkish textile firms making the most of advantageous business conditions in Serbia and setting up companies in the Balkan state is set to double by the start of the new year, economic experts have predicted.

Offering investors state-of-the-art established production facilities, access to a skilled workforce and financial subsidies on the table, Serbia has proved to be a prime location for Turkish investment, particularly in the textile industry.…

CONFECTIONARY manufacturers in India are having to grapple with their products and ingredients attracting a wide range of tax rates under the country’s new goods and services tax (GST), which started to be levied from July 1.

India’s GST Council, a body representing the central and state governments, has been deciding which goods will be covered by the zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% tax rates allowed under India’s GST legislation. …

Croatia has reversed a decision to raise import fees on food imports charged at its borders with its non-European Union (EU) Balkan countries Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina, as well as on trades from Macedonia, another ex-Yugoslav state. The Croatian ministry of agriculture today (Aug 10) announced that “from Friday [August 11] onwards the border controls would be fully normalised”.…

SERBIA’S Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport handled its first direct flight to New York, USA, last June (2016) and thus grabbed an extraordinary opportunity to start re-positioning itself as a south-east Europe hub offering flight connections.

Domestic airline Air Serbia has been successfully operating this route to John F Kennedy International Airport, but the preparations at the Nikola Tesla for handling transatlantic flights was not smooth at all.…

THE PRESIDENT of a key Serbian meat industry association has told GlobalMeatNews that a new meat quality label will help raise standards among her country’s manufacturers and processors, boosting sales at home and abroad.

Tamara Penjić, the president of the Serbian Meat Quality Label Association, said the label will “contribute to the strengthening of export potential and the opening of new markets”.…

MANY personal care product markets in eastern and central Europe are growing slowly, with incremental growth being tapped especially by major international brands who have squeezed out local players with their solid pricing and reliable quality.

But with natural cosmetics rising in popularity, there is still space for innovative smaller players with sufficient local roots and knowhow to appeal to consumers in what remains an extremely diverse region in terms of culture and consumer habits.…

MANY personal care product markets in eastern and central Europe are growing slowly, with incremental growth being tapped especially by major international brands who have squeezed out local players with their solid pricing and reliable quality.

But with natural cosmetics rising in popularity, there is still space for innovative smaller players with sufficient local roots and knowhow to appeal to consumers in what remains an extremely diverse region in terms of culture and consumer habits.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and its member states have been keen adopters of rules restricting how tobacco companies make, market and sell their wares, but to what extent have the EU’s neighbours to the east and southeast followed suit?

The answer is – largely – yes: controls have increased – but the extent to which this has happened and the details of restrictions vary widely from country to country.…

MULTI-COUNTRY regions such as eastern Europe do not always follow the same script when it comes to market performance. Sometimes, when major events happen, such as the global financial crisis, it is difficult for national coatings markets to buck the trend, but with the recovery now established, weakening economic headwinds, the latent differences between national markets can become clear.…

COUNTRIES in eastern Europe and the western Balkans are struggling to meet renewable energy targets set through their membership of the European Union (EU)-linked Energy Community, according to two new reports. They say just one of the community’s eight member countries – Montenegro – is likely to meet EU targets for renewables by 2020.…

EXPORTERS of liquid milk and associated products to the European Union (EU) will have to work harder to secure sales in future from April 1, with the EU finally scrapping its production quotas from that date. They may also have to fend off new tough competition from EU exporters in their domestic markets.…

TEXTILE exports from Serbia to Russia have been increasing, as European Union (EU) exports fall amidst the continuing diplomatic standoff between Brussels and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. The Serbian government has also been working to prevent EU exporters using Serbia as a backdoor conduit for textile re-exports to Russian markets, taking advantage of the 2000 Serbo-Russian free trade agreement.…

Belgrade Nikola Tesla International Airport, in Serbia, is expanding and investing in its terminals as its traffic continues to grow. It long ago cemented its position as the busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, and is seeking to underpin this status with a series of investments made since 2013.  …

Poland confirmed plans in 2012 to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with a view to importing supplies from Qatar, it seemed like the latest example of eastern European energy ministries trying to avoid energy dependence on Russia. Plans to develop shale gas in Poland and the Baltic States fall into the same category, along with policies to build energy infrastructure linking Poland and its Nordic and Baltic neighbours.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked oil and gas companies to participate in a major public consultation designed to help it draft reforms promoting the development of new energy technologies. Brussels is planning to release a new policy paper on the subject in the middle of this year.…

CYPRUS is under intense pressure to clean up its act  – at least on the south of the island, controlled by the internationally recognised government- in battling what some foreign creditors, with Germany at the forefront, see as a widespread money laundering problem.…

BY MARK ROWE, MICHAEL KOSMIDES, IN ATHENS, AND MOHAMMED YUSUF, IN NAIROBI

INTERNATIONAL civil aviation procedures are designed to create predictability. But they are not usually applicable for airports in territories that have declared independence, but have not achieved full international recognition, or a seat at the United Nations.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, IN NOVI SAD, SERBIA

IT goes without saying that when a country falls apart through years of bloody civil war, the purchase of luxury clothing is not going to be a priority. But peace usually brings a strong desire to put aside painful memories and this can bring a yearning for luxury.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, IN SERBIA

AS Russian energy giant Gazprom begins construction work on the South Stream pipeline project by the end of this year for an operational launch in 2015, its final route across the Balkans has yet to be decided and governments are jostling for position.…

BY MARK ROWE, IN LONDON; ZLATKO CONKAS, IN NOVI SAD, SERBIA; MIKE STEIN, IN PRAGUE; AND BLAKE BERRY, IN WARSAW

DURING the spring of 2011, the prevailing view throughout eastern Europe’s personal care and toiletries market was that while business was not exactly buoyant, the worst of the recession was over – then came the credit crises and the faltering Euro.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

Will Croatia’s ascension to the EU hamper the country’s tobacco industry?

Croatia’s strong tobacco sector stands to benefit from selling into the European Union once the country joins the EU. However it could lose trade in neighbouring states because of duty changes.…

BY MARK ROWE and ZLATKO CONKAS

THE AMBITION of Serbia to join the European Union (EU) is proving problematic on a number of fronts, with the country’s control of money laundering a major hurdle. In February 2010, 50 people were arrested, suspected of using money laundering and tax evasion involving up to USD2.7 million.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, BLAKE BERRY, MONIKA HANLEY, MARK ROWE and KEITH NUTHALL

EASTERN Europe is often regarded as developing in the slipstream of richer western Europe – and so far the model seems to be fitting with biofuels. That said, significant biodiesel manufacturing capacity is in place in the region, according to the European Biodiesel Board.…

BY ZLATKO ?ONKA?

EUROPE: Serbia and Kosovo strike deal over degree recognition

Zlatko ?onka?

The European University Association (EUA) has welcomed an agreement between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo that will pave the way for the mutual recognition of degrees issued by their universities.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction & Development is considering lending up to Euro EUR68 million to a leading Serbian beauty products producer Beohemija. The money would help it expand and restructure its finances. The bank said new investment in manufacturing technology would "improve productivity, energy efficiency and environmental safety", creating "a showcase to others in the market on how to be financially successful and energy efficient."…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

BENETTON is to invest Euro EUR43 million in clothing factory it is purchasing in the southern Serbian city of Nis, in a bid to strengthen its position in the Balkans.

The Italian knitwear giant is expected to become an official owner of the currently government-owned Nis-based ‘Nitex’ textile factory after a sale set for May 13.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, KEITH NUTHALL

SERBIA is the latest European country to start formal accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) and as it prepares to joins the EU, its auto sector will have increasingly unfettered access to the EU’s 500 million consumer market.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, and KEITH NUTHALL

WHEN imagining Europe’s greenest and most efficient energy systems, the countries of the former Yugoslavia do not readily spring to mind. The simple truth is Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and even Slovenia have a reputation for having ageing energy dirty systems.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE NEXT few years are likely to see several countries accede to the European Union (EU), with significant implications for the personal care sector. Local producers of toiletries, detergents and cosmetics, as well as multinationals in a number of countries, are closely following the negotiations conducted by their governments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS a new European Union (EU) energy Commissioner takes office for the next five years, EU member states are stalling over a plan to inject Euro 50 billion into European energy research budgets over the next decade. The Strategic Energy Technology (SET) plan released by the previous European Commission last October would involve a massive expansion of such spending from 2013 to 2019, but national governments have signalled nervousness.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round in the doldrums this year, the European Union (EU) has been focusing on bilateral trade deals and European confectionery producers will benefit.

The most important of recently struck agreements has been an EU-South Korea trade deal, which will create a virtual free trade zone between the signatories.…

BY MARK ROWE

ACCORDING to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, 33% of women and 51% of men smoke in Serbia, and per capita consumption of cigarettes remained constant at around 80 packs per year between 2005 and 2009.

Sales of boxes of cigarettes have declined since 2004, but this trend accelerated in 2008 when 520,825,787 boxes were sold, a significant drop from 2007 when 573,297,364 were sold, according to the Serbian government statistics department.…

BY MARK ROWE and KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA’S belligerent approach to its neighbours in recent years has ranged from military conflict with Georgia to energy disputes with Ukraine and a string of commodity-based stand-offs, such as rows with Norway over fish products, Poland over meat supplies and Belarus over sugar.…

BY MARK ROWE

The expansion of the European Union (EU) continues eastwards – and the food and drink industry of the existing EU will inevitably be affected by the new competition, as will companies in the new member countries.

The next few years are likely to see several countries accede to the EU.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has agreed to fund with US$8.63 million an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-coordinated project to decommission Serbia’s ageing Vinca Institute research reactor. Work will start with repackaging old Soviet nuclear fuel for repatriation to Russia for reprocessing.…

BY MARK ROWE

ONE of the most perfidious environmental legacies of communism in eastern Europe was that of mining pollution. In particular, across a swathe of the Balkans, from Albania to Bosnia & Herzegovina, (the former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo, up to 150 mines have been identified by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as areas of concern.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
AN odd fact about Serbia today is that hardly anybody in the country seems curious about the way its official government financial figures don’t remotely add up. The authors of a US-sponsored report for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published last October – ‘Money Laundering and Predicate Crime in Serbia 2000-2005’ – acknowledge the conventional shortages of staff and computers but say they “hit on a more fundamental void: lack of curiosity.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending Euro 10 million to Serbian edible oil processing company Mladost – Sid to buy more sunflower seeds to increase production of crude sunflower oil.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) European Agency for Reconstruction will pay for the tagging of one million Serbia cattle to improve food safety and help the country increase its meat and animal exports. The tags will allow Serbian veterinary authorities to track bovine livestock from farm to market, helping them spot and contain disease.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is planning to pump Euro 16 million into a Serbian copper mill producing semi-finished copper and brass products. The money will be channelled via Sevojno Rolling Mill’s private owner, Cyprus-based East Point Holdings Ltd, which will use the loan to purchase new equipment and modernise existing plant at the rolling mill in Sevojno, around 100 miles south of Belgrade.…

BY MARK ROWE
THERE is no doubt that water quality in eastern Europe has improved immeasurably since the break up of the Soviet Union and its related satellite states, a process reinforced by the wholesale privatisation now taking place. But while standards have improved, concerns about pollution, old pipes and outdated treatment works are likely to continue.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
AS recently as 1989 Yugoslavia was the richest and most westernised country in eastern and central Europe and arguably among the more politically stable of them. But then came the collapse. The ethnic fighting of the early 1990s led to breakaways by Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina as independent states in 1992, leaving Serbia and Montenegro as the “Federal Republic of Yugoslavia” under Slobodan Milosevic.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced plans to lend up to Euro 30 million in debt financing to a Serbia & Montenegro retail group, enabling it to launch 31 new supermarkets in the next two years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is planning to lend Euro 20 million to help American packaging giant the Ball Corporation build an aluminium can plant in Serbia. The plant is expected to focus on beverages, increasing competition in the sector, said an EBRD note.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE URGENCY of the need to create a hazardous waste disposal facility in Serbia – able to deal with the most toxic substances – has been underlined by the dumping of 24 barrels of carcinogenic liquid near Belgrade.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending Euro 16 million to two Serbian agribusiness companies – Fabrika TE-TO Senta and Star Secer (Nova Crnja) – both owned by Italian sugar producer SFIR Group – to purchase beets from local farmers, boosting their liquidity.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A KEY part of the European Union-funded programme to create a Serbian Agency for Medical Products (MPA) has been fulfilled, with the completion of a new Euro 300,000 headquarters building for the 150 staff organisation. Opened by Serbian Health Minister, Dr Tomica Milosavljevic (SPELLING IS CORRECT), it is expected to be fully furnished and operating within two months.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending Euro 16 million to two Serbian agribusiness companies – Fabrika TE-TO Senta and Star Secer (Nova Crnja) – both owned by Italian sugar producer SFIR Group – to purchase beets from local farmers, boosting their liquidity.…