Why Serbia is becoming the next market for companies from Friuli Venezia Giulia

For many companies in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the first markets abroad were the obvious ones: Austria, Germany, Slovenia. Serbia is increasingly next on the list — close enough to reach by rail and road in a day, large enough to matter, and hungry for machinery, building materials, furniture and food.

Sample members such as Sava Adriatic Trade, with offices in Trieste and Belgrade, see demand from manufacturers modernising their plants, residential developers furnishing new buildings and a hospitality sector that looks to Italian design.

Logistics is no longer the obstacle

Intermodal services from the Port of Trieste — such as the planned Trieste–Belgrade link published as an investment opportunity by the sample operator Adriatica Intermodal — bring Serbia within 48 hours of deep-sea vessels in the Adriatic.

How to start

The usual path is a short market study, a shortlist of importers or distributors and a first round of meetings. On the platform, companies publish the partner they need, use matchmaking with Serbia as a market, and join B2B missions such as the sample Serbia Market Day in Trieste.

Selling outside the EU means customs, VAT and contracts work differently — worth preparing with an adviser before the first order.