Structural adjustment of Serbian commodity exports to the EU demand for imports

Abstract

In this paper we have calculated indexes of export-import similarity (Serbian exports and EU imports) by using certain statistical methods. A considerable increase in indexes of export-import similarity, after the approval of the EU preferential, shows that Serbian exports used to be adjusted to the EU market. After suddenly increasing, indexes of export-import similarity then decreased followed by a fall in the share of manufactured products in total exports, although the total exports and exports to the EU recorded a further increase. This fact clearly shows that a growth in exports was achieved mainly by primary products, which widened a gap between the Serbian export structure and that of the EU import structure. Therefore, a growth in Serbian exports can not be sustained without radical restructuring of the Serbian export sector.