Suchergebnisse

Although food with nutritive and health claims in the Western Balkan countries has been present in this region for more than a decade, it has remained rather understudied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the importance of products with nutritive and health claims in the Western Balkans, using qualitative research techniques. In the study, the prices and margins of the subject product group, distribution channels, demand perception and incentives as well as barriers for the future development of the functional food market were analyzed. The study included five categories of products with nutritive and health claims, while the technique of the in-depth interviews was adopted. The total of 29 producers and 26 retailers form all the six countries of the region participated in the research. Even though the studied categories recorded a sales growth in the previous period, a significant increase is expected in the medium and long term, along with the growth of the living standard - given that products with nutritive and health claims are more expensive than regular ones. The results imply that it is necessary that the level of education regarding the role of food in health preservation should be raised; and that a change in bad eating habits should be influenced. The development of functional food markets also requires a government support and an appropriate legislation.

Abstract
Are there significant regional differences in regional retail development in Serbia? This was the main research question at the beginning of writing this paper. The main goal of this paper was to analyse regional differences in retail development based on existing statistical data. The idea was to point out regions with underdeveloped retailing and the one with endangered retail competition. Thorough desk research has been performed. It included both literature review and data collection from available official sources. Existing retail data have been analysed. However, the lack of data at lower levels of aggregation (regional and local) prevents the authors from getting strong conclusions. In addition, the lack of data also altered the main research question, which has now become adequacy of data in the retail sector and potential solutions for that problem. The noted lack of crucial data and solutions for solving this problem were the main purpose of this paper. The main finding is that decision makers in Serbia do not have adequate information about retail network. This is a problem because it is very hard to prove anticompetitive actions or to plan (stimulate) retail development without relevant data from both government and business point of view. Retail census would help getting key indicators about development of retailing in certain regions and municipalities. However, the solution needs to be sustainable. Therefore, some legislative requirements should provide information for census update.