German investments in Serbia to date amount to EUR 1.5 billion, while the donations of that country have reached the value of EUR 1 billion, Deputy President of the German Business Association in Belgrade Bojan Predojevic said Wednesday.
- There are over 360 German companies operating in Serbia and employing 20,000 people, while many German companies operate through their daughter companies from Austria - he said at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC).
In addition to well-known companies such as Siemens, Waz, Stada, Metro, and Messer, Predojevic also mentioned two latest German companies in our country - the car components manufacturer Leoni in Prokuplje, central Serbia, and the textile brand Falke in Leskovac.
- The economy of Germany is again the driving force of the European economy with its high performances and GDP growth of 3.6 percent in 2010 against the previous year, achieved primarily thanks to the production of goods intended for export - said Olivera Kiro, secretary of the Board for International Economic Relations of SCC, opening the meeting of the Section for Germany.
Kiro reminded that Germany was the second biggest partner of Serbia in both import and export.
Members of the Section for Germany reappointed Miroslav Tlacinac, owner of Kraljevo-based Amiga, as the president, while Aleksandar Savuljic, director of the commercial department of Ada-based Termometal, was appointed as his deputy.
The president reminded businessmen that the exchange of goods between the two countries had amounted to USD 2.8 billion in 2010, while its value in the first four months of 2011 had reached USD 1 billion. In that period, compared to the same period last year, Serbia's export and import grew by 37.3 and 27.2 percent, respectively, so that the deficit of our country was reduced and the coverage of import by export in the first four months of this year amounted to 65.5 percent.
Director of the Branch Office of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt Milanka Vucic presented the post-crisis trends in the economy of Germany, which last year registered a EUR 950 billion export and a EUR 798 billion import, thus achieving a surplus of EUR 154.3 billion in the exchange of goods with the rest of the world.
- GDP per capita in the amount of EUR 30,572 proves a high solvency of the German market, through which the global market of quality goods for solvent buyers can be entered in the fastest possible way. The market of Germany is also interesting to use because it is huge and has enough room for all kinds of goods - said Milanka Vucic.
For a good marketing strategy, an increasingly important role in the German market is played by trade agents. Trade agents, representing an easier way to market foreign products, especially unknown brands, registered a EUR 175 billion turnover in the trade in various goods last year, Vucic stressed.
She also provided members of the Section with the detailed information about the functioning of trade agencies in Germany where about 60,000 such agencies with over 200,000 employees operate at the moment. After the plenary part of the meeting, Milanka Vucic had individual meetings with businessmen. She also announced that the SCC Branch Office and the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce would organize in September a presentation of the Serbian goods seeking buyers in the German market.
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