AN ANALYSIS OF PLUM PRODUCTION IN SERBIA FROM 2005 TO 2016

Abstract: According to the total number of trees and average annual production, the plum has had
the leading position among fruit crops in the Republic of Serbia for many years. According to the
data on the period from 2005 to 2014, the Republic of Serbia was the second in the world in the
production of these fruit crops, right after China. Extremely favorable natural conditions for plum
cultivation, among other things, have certainly contributed to the abundance of plums in the
Republic of Serbia. However, one can notice that the productive area under this crop has not
increased in the past couple of years, which is worrisome. This paper presents an analysis of plum
production in the Republic of Serbia, using the index comparison method, i.e. using the statistical
data on previous years, comparing them with the data on 2016. The data available on the website
of the FAOSTAT statistical database and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (RZS)
were used for the comparison and analysis. The analysis of the available data on the period from
2005 to 2015 showed that the total yield of plums in this period varied, as well as the yield per
hectare in tons, ranging from 2.8 to 7.3, depending on the year. However, in 2016, one can notice
a slight increase in the total plum production in comparison to 2014 and 2015, while 2013 is still
a record year when it comes to yield. The data from these sources differed for certain years, but
these deviations of the total yield can be attributed to variations conditioned by the very manner
of yield counting, import and export.

Keywords: plum, production, analysis, yield.