THE PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR IN SERBIA’S BIOECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM THE AGRI-FOOD VALUE CHAIN

Miljan Adamović; Azra Hodžić; Radmila Kazanović; Sunita Delić-Ćustendil

doi:10.59267/ekoPolj2601303A

Authors

Miljan Adamović Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia; Pharmacy Institution “Zdravlje lek”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9088-7576
Azra Hodžić , Faculty of Health Studies, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Gorsen Ltd., 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6817-7272
Radmila Kazanović Naut Group doo, 7300 Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7216-8084
Sunita Delić-Ćustendil Polyclinic for Blood Transfusion, University Clinical Center Tuzla,75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4713-1864

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2601303A

Keywords:

bioeconomy, agro-food value chain, pharmaceutical industry, food industry, Serbia

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyse the pharmaceutical sectorin the Republic of Serbia’s agro-based production systemthrough a comparative analysis with the food industry overthe period 2016–2024. The analysis relies on aggregatedsectoral financial data and uses various financial indicators.The findings show that the pharmaceutical sectorconsistently achieves higher value added, stronger exportorientation, faster long-term growth dynamics, and morestable performance than the food industry. This confirmsthe existence of a pronounced structural gap withinSerbia’s bio-economy between traditional agro-industrialsectors and knowledge-intensive bio-based industries. Thefindings provide a quantitative basis for assessing the roleof the pharmaceutical sector as a carrier of higher valueadded stages in the agro-based production system.

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