Description
Serbia’s manufacturing sector was undergoing a late structural transformation but faced persistent constraints: SME fragmentation, weak integration into global value chains, and skills shortages. The World Bank’s “Competitiveness and Jobs” aimed to strengthen evidence-based industrial policy to boost competitiveness and employment. Within this framework, the Ministry of Economy and the Serbian Development Agency commissioned in-depth analyses of four manufacturing sectors: Food & Beverages, Wood & Furniture, Rubber & Plastics, and Machinery & Equipment
CEVES's Role
CEVES, in consortium with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS), led the research team that implemented the sector analyses. At the time of project preparation, CEVES was already a recognized and well-positioned player that facilitated new perspectives on the importance of sector-level analysis and better understanding of fast-growing firms as drivers of structural change. Through its cooperation with PKS and the earlier Indeks Razvojnih Potencijala study, CEVES helped bring this lens into the value chain work, aligning with international best practice and the needs of the Ministry of Economy. Index of Development Potential, CEVES helped implement this approach in value chain work, in line with international practices and the needs of the Ministry of Economy.
Key results
• Produced comprehensive performance and value chain studies for four priority sectors, with deep sub-sector mapping.
• Identified comparative advantages (e.g., fruit processing and raspberries in F&B, tool-making labor in Rubber & Plastics, engineering skills in Machinery, design-to-market potential in Furniture).
• Highlighted structural challenges: SME fragmentation, limited access to finance, shortage of highly skilled labor.
• Benchmarked Serbian sectors against EU and regional competitors, showing both missed opportunities and strong niches.
• Developed sector-specific action matrices with policy measures for SME clustering, export promotion, skills alignment, and transparent raw material markets.
• Findings were integrated into Serbia’s industrial policy framework and informed subsequent sector policy design under the World Bank project.
