Fruit export through the prism of the high-value market and GLOBALG.A.P. certification: An analysis from Serbia

Abstract

On the international fresh fruits and vegetables market Serbia is recognized as a valuable and respectable producer and exporter. The Serbian export of these products is determined by the volume and value of fruit and vegetable production, as well as the implementation of the GLOBALG.A.P. voluntary standard in the farm production. On the example of Serbia, the aim of the paper is to test the statistical significance of the impact of GLOBALG.A.P. certification in plant production, as well as the impact of the fruit production value on the fruit export to high-value markets in the period 2010-2021. For this analysis, a multiple linear regression model is used. The b coefficients in this paper are tested using the t-test, and the regression model using the F-test. It finds that the growth in the number of GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers does not affect the value of fruit exports to high-value markets (p=0.817), nor does the increase in certified area (p=0.446). At the same time, the value of fruit production affects the export value of this sector to high-value markets (p=0.000). The obtained results can be explained by the fact that GLOBALG.A.P. certification is still not significantly represented in the agricultural production of Serbia. The implementation of the standard requires significant investments on the farm, it is administratively extremely demanding, and thus it is available mainly to large-scale farms, with greater economic strength, as well as financially strong companies, which purchase and export fresh agricultural products to the world market.