Serbian juice producer Nectar and its Slovenian subsidiary, Fructal, will get €30 million in loan financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The loan will boost the competitiveness and operational efficiency improvements of Nectar, the leading juice producer in the Western Balkans, which is developing origin-based labels for fresh-fruit products under the EBRD/FAO Geographical Indication (GI) project.
Regional market leader Nectar will help champion the EBRD/FAO GI project by improving the certification of raspberries from Serbia's Arilje region.
Around 100 raspberry farmers are expected to obtain the certification under the project. Furthermore, the financing will help implement and promote GI examples that can be replicated not only in the fruit segment, but also in others, which will result in the improved differentiation of local products.
The EBRD loan is split in two tranches: €25 million to refinance the existing debt portfolio and €5 million for future energy-efficiency improvements and other capital expenditure. In addition, Serbian and Slovenian partner banks are also extending €35 million to Nectar and Fructal for debt restructuring.
EBRD and FAO initiated the GI project to help local producers to become more competitive and achieve greater market access with their unique products. The FAO/EBRD project is in its early stages and is part of a larger initiative, enjoying donor financing from Luxembourg.
This is the second fruit product from Serbia participating in the GI project, following the success of improved certification of the Serbian sour cherry.
In a related development, the owner and the president of Nectar, Slobodan Radun, announced on 1 December the start of exports of Fructal and Nectar products to China.
Nectar has grown from a domestic family company into a leading company in the SEE region in fruit-processing and fruit-juice production, with an annual turnover of more than €120 million and exports to 50 countries worldwide.
