Serbian companies have a sporting chance of achieving greater export to the markets of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2012, Director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) Bozidar Laganin told Tanjug.

Laganin underlined that Serbia signed free trade agreements with these countries, and qualified as encouraging the fact that only in 2011, Serbia achieved a 57 percent increase in exports to the huge Russian market.

“It is with great pleasure that I note that during 2011, Serbia's overall exports expressed in the U.S. dollar rose by 21.4 percent in the period ranging from January to November, and I hope that we will manage to maintain the momentum,” he said.

The SIEPA director stressed that the auto industry in Serbia is scoring quite good results, so SIEPA will help present it in various motor shows.

Laganin also underscored that more than 50 percent of the Serbian exports still go to the EU member states.

He noted that during 2012, besides its regular activities, SIEPA will place a special emphasis on the IT/Communications industry, since in 2011 Serbia managed to “export more software than raspberries.”

In 2012, SIEPA will also be active in more distant markets and organize the promotion of Serbian exporters in the Japanese, South Korean and African markets.

There are certain niche sectors that could open up good opportunities for Serbian companies, and these are the very markets in which we have proved to be competitive, Laganin said, stressing that the crisis took a greater toll on the countries which focused on certain sectors, as they failed to diversify their export portfolios.

Thanks to SIEPA, Serbian construction companies presented themselves to the Polish market at the leading trade fair in the domain of construction industry in Central and Eastern Europe, the BUDMA International Construction Fair 2012, which was held in Poznan from January 24-27.

The markets of Russia and North Africa also offer great prospects for Serbian construction workers, as there they can take part in building hotels, sports and other facilities, Laganin emphasized.