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Yugoslavia moots trade pacts for onions, farm products

The visiting Yugoslavian trade delegation, led by the agriculture minister of that country, has offered to enter into long-term trade arrangements with India for supply of onions, oilseeds and other farm commodities.

Nedeljko Sipovac, the Yugoslav agriculture minister, told his Indian counterpart Som Pal that Belgrade could even arrange immediate delivery of surplus stocks of onions in case New Delhi placed a firm order for it.

Both the ministers signed at the end of the delegations level talks an agreed minutes earmarking areas of trade cooperation and commodity trade between the two sides.

Accordingly, Yugoslavia has offered to step up purchases of coffee, tea, spices and engineering goods from India. Apart from selling farm surplus commodities like onions, oilseeds, soyabean, and beetroot to India, Yugoslavia is keen to have joint ventures with Indian companies for commercial agricultural production, food processing and oil exploration, Sipovac told newsmen after his meeting with Som Pal.

Sipovac said the Indo-Yugoslav joint venture with the Zuari Agrochemicals for production of sunflower seeds in India was already a big success.

The Yugoslavian agriculture minister also called on vice-president Krishna Kant and met commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde. The Yugoslavian delegation would be received by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee in Bombay on Friday. The delegation had also met a number of Indian business persons at a colloquium organised by the FICCI in New Delhi today.

Sipovac had a special word on the long-standing ties between India and Yugoslavia and thanked New Delhi for the understanding and support extended during the difficult times of internal turmoil and sectarian strife in that country.

UNI

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