Determinants of organic market development in the Western Balkans

Abstract

Organic food market in the Western Balkans is at an early stage of development with prevalent symptoms of a market that is still undeveloped enough. In order to identify the key determinants of a faster development of the West Balkans' market, the paper deals with the analysis of the market factors on one hand and political and legal factors on the other. The market factors consist of two groups: the ones on the side of supply and the others on the side of demand. The analysis' results show that individual markets in this region are found at different stages of development, from undeveloped markets with low growth rates and low organic production, to emerging markets with faster market growth and more organic food producers. The functioning of political and legal factors contributes to the noted differences regarding the stage of market development, since organic production is a completely controlled production. Thus, the paper shows comparative analysis of the Western Balkans regarding legislative framework, the financial support system as well as the system of control, certification and labeling of organic products. According to the results of the comparative analysis, those countries that have previously established the appropriate legislative and institutional framework, experience a faster growth of the local organic food market. In addition to the identified differences, individual markets in the Western Balkans region have a number of common characteristics, hence the recommendations for the development of efficient marketing strategies are given in the conclusion.

Keywords

• organic food market
• Western Balkans
• organic food consumers
• organic legislation