Organic Fruit Production in Serbia

Abstract

Organic fruit production and demands for such a production have been growing in Europe and worldwide. Agroecological conditions in Serbia exceptionally favour the development of organic fruit production, particularly of berries with raspberry varieties ranking first (raspberry from Arilje make up to 30% of the total world production of this species). Areas with organic orchards in our country amount to 2208.05 ha, ranking second, just behind the areas with cereals. The greatest areas with organic orchards are located in the regions of southern and eastern Serbia (1244.22 ha), then in Šumadija and western Serbia (830.61 ha). The Toplica District is a leading district in this most important region with the area of 1152.62 ha. Considering the fact that Serbia provides excellent natural capacities for the production of organic fruit, producers are still underutilizing these available natural resources, which represents a significant challenge for the future improvement of organic fruit production.