Abstract
Sjenica sheep cheese is produced in the south-western municipality of Serbia. The production of both sheep milk and cheese takes place in small households. The primary characteristics are that it is produced from fresh sheep milk without thermal treatment, and grazing is the dominant part of the animal diet. This kind of production is vital for the prevention of depopulation in this severely underdeveloped region. A significant amount of agricultural subsidies are spent on cheese production. Our analysis shows that the PGI product outperforms its reference product (fresh cow cheese) in terms of price and net results, and is under-represented in overall export potential due to significantly lower volume of production. Regarding environmental indicators (food miles, carbon, blue water and grey water footprints) the PGI product substantially outperforms its reference product, calculated at farm level. Even though there is a higher labour intensity and generation of more jobs for the local community for Sjenica cheese, the average turnover per employee is significantly lower because of the structure of farms/firms. Sheep farming employs more younger workers than older ones, but educational attainment is close to 0, which is a strong barrier for further FQS development. Finally, production levels of the PGI value chain are price takers in both value chains, but at the level of milk producers, bargaining power is much stronger for the reference product. On the other hand, wholesale and retail have stronger bargaining power than the production section.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Data obtained in in-depth interviews.
- 2.
Popović-Vranješ et al. (2011) and interviews in Belgrade supermarkets.
- 3.
Facts and data related to performance CS and its reference were collected from 4 main sources; (1) Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia – SORS (www.stat.gov.rs), (2) Farm Accountancy Data Network for Serbia – FADN Serbia, (3) primary sources based on the interviews with farmers and processors, (4) previously conducted studies of the dairy sector in Serbia.
- 4.
For details of Sjenica municipality employment policy, see Arandarenko et al. (2008).
- 5.
In-depth interviews conducted for the purpose of this case study within Strength2Food.
- 6.
Note that in 2016 the average retail price of Sjenica sheep cheese was EUR 4.85 per kilo. See at http://moja-pijaca-kucna-dostava.mojsajt.rs/Cenovnik1
- 7.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).
References
Arandarenko, M., Bojić K., Ognjanov G., Mitić S., & Vojvodičan M. (2008). Analiza lokalnih tržišta rada: Finalni izveštaj, Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN). www.fren.org.rs
Bellassen, V., Giraud, G., Hilal, M., Arfini, F., Barczak, A., Bodini, A., Brennan, M., Drut, M., Duboys de Labarre, M., Gorton, M., Hartmann, M., Majewski, E., Muller, P., Monier-Dilhan, S., Poméon, T., Tocco, B., Tregear, A., Veneziani, M., Vergote, M.-H., Vitterso, G., Wavresky, P., & Wilkinson, A. (2016). Strength2Food project, deliverable 3.2: Methods and indicators for measuring the social, environmental and economic impacts of food quality schemes. Dijon: INRA.
Bogdanović, V., Petrović, M. M., & Ostojić, D. (2004). Zootehnički uslovi proizvodnje od značaja za geografsku oznaku porekla autohtonog sjeničkog sira. Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry, 20(1–2), 23–27.
Farm Accountancy Data Network for Serbia (FADN). (n.d). www.fadn.rs
Filipović, J. (2019). Market-oriented sustainability of Sjenica sheep cheese. Sustainability, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030834.
Grubić, G. (2012). Ishrana ovaca. Beograd: Poljoprivredni fakultet. http://www.agrif.bg.ac.rs/files/profiles/31/1073/Ishrana%20ovaca.pdf.
Gavrilović, L. J., & Đorđević, I. (2016). Sjenica cheese as immaterial cultural heritage: An anthropological approach to the issue. Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology, 11(4), 989–1004.
Jovanović, S. T., Maćej, O. D., & Barać, M. B. (2004). Characteristics of autochthonous production of Sjenica cheese at Sjenica-Pester plateau region. Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry, 20(1–2), 131–139.
Lončar, D., & Ristić, B. (2011). Analysis of competition and market concentration in the dairy sector in Serbia. Ekonomika preduzeća, 59(1–2), 125–142.
Popović-Vranješ, A., Graca F., & Bauman F. (2011). Elaborat za zaštitu imena porekla Sjeničkog ovčijeg sira, Udruženje proizvođača Sjeničkog sira. Sjenički sir. www.zis.gov.rs/upload/documents/pdf_sr/pdf_ogp/G%2059%20Sjenicki%20ovciji%20sir.pdf
Poljosfera. http://www.poljosfera.rs/agrosfera/agro-teme/stocarstvo/znacaj-dubrenja-livada-i-pasnjaka/
Radivojević, D., Topisirović, G., & Stanimirović, N. (2004). Mehanizacija stočarske proizvodnje. Beograd: Poljoprivredni fakultet. www.avm.rs/dok-Radivojevic/7-DR-Ovce.pdf.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS). (n.d). www.stat.gov.rs
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Filipović, J., Stojanović, Ž., Ristić, B. (2019). PGI Sjenica Cheese in Serbia. In: Arfini, F., Bellassen, V. (eds) Sustainability of European Food Quality Schemes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27508-2_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27508-2_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-27507-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27508-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)