The largest landowners in Serbia are the Meat Industry “Matijević,” the company Al Dahra from the United Arab Emirates, Delta Holding, Almex, Login EKO, Ćorić Agrar, the company “Mile Blagojević,” Elit Agrar, Al Ravafed, and the company Nicko, as reported by Forbes today.
The Meat Industry “Matijević,” which includes “Matijević” agrar, cultivates 36,000 hectares of land across Vojvodina and 2,000 hectares in Croatia, of which 33,000 hectares are owned. The company produces components for animal feed, according to Beta, citing Forbes.
The company includes 106 business entities in the fields of agriculture, trade, and hospitality. One of the recent significant transactions was the acquisition of a majority stake in the “Mitron” group from Vrbas, along with about ten other companies, including the “Banat” oil factory and the agricultural estate “Sava Kovačević,” which brought around 4,000 hectares to the “Matijević” company.
Al Dahra has been the second-largest landowner in Serbia for the past five years, thanks to the purchase of a portion of PKB’s assets in October 2018. They invested 121 million euros and took over 17,000 hectares of land.
As reported by the media, the company paid 80 million euros for the land, and calculations showed that they paid 4,700 euros per hectare.
According to the contract for the sale of PKB’s assets, Al Dahra had the right to sell 10% of the land each year, or 1,700 hectares annually, within the first three years without the consent of the state.
It is not ruled out that they may have sold some hectares in previous years because, according to available data, this company currently owns 14,429 hectares.
MK Group cultivates more than 13,500 hectares of land in Vojvodina. On 1,497 hectares of arable land, they grow vegetables, beans, peas, sweetcorn, and potatoes. They have 16.5 hectares of their own vineyards, while 85 hectares are dedicated to apple orchards. Insiders claim that they own around 11,000 hectares of land, although available data suggest just under 10,000 hectares.
Their companies, Carnex, own the most, around 3,500 hectares, followed by Agropanonija from Kula with just over 2,000 hectares, BD Agro with around 1,100 hectares, and PIK Bečej with just under 1,000 hectares. Delta Holding, according to information from their official website, cultivates a total of 15,000 hectares across five agricultural estates. On one hand, it is said that they own 95% of the land, insiders attribute 10,000 hectares to them, while the ownership records of the companies suggest just under 7,000 hectares.
According to available data, their company “Napredak” owns around 3,900 hectares, Delta Agrar is the owner of just over 1,000 hectares, and “Topola” owns just under 1,000 hectares. Delta Agrar is engaged in crop farming, fruit and vegetable production, and livestock farming on five agricultural estates.
In the field of cooperation and procurement, the company is involved in the purchase of fruits and vegetables, meat, and livestock. They are also engaged in retail and ensure multi-year production contracts for crops with primary producers through more than five procurement centers.
According to the financial report for the year 2022, AlmeX from Pančevo owns around 10,000 hectares of land and cultivates a total of about 15,000 hectares. The company is also an importer and distributor of agricultural machinery from well-known brands. Login EKO is owned by a Slovenian couple famous in the IT industry – Iza and Samo Login, who are the creators of the video game Talking Tom. They sold their business for a billion dollars and used part of the money to purchase land in Vojvodina.
Back then, there were reports about the acquisition of around 4,000 hectares of land in Banat, where they planned to engage in organic production. As seen, their company Login EKO is now the owner of 3,600 hectares.
Next to them is Ćorić Agrar from Bašaida, which states in its financial report for 2022 that they own around 2,000 hectares. The owner of the company is Krsto Ćorić, and the primary activity of the company was initially retail and wholesale trade in agricultural machinery.
Currently available data suggest that it is entirely possible that this company has increased its landholdings in the meantime, amounting to approximately 3,300 hectares. Ćorić Agrar itself owns 1,653 hectares, Graničar has 917 hectares, and Kipetrol is the owner of around 700 hectares.
Mile Blagojević was the owner of two companies, and through them, he owned 3,130 hectares of land. His company “Ratkovo” owns 2,000 hectares, but in December 2012, it was merged with the company “Čalma.”
The company “Čalma,” established at the end of 2001, primarily engages in the cultivation of cereals (excluding rice), legumes, and oilseeds. It owns 1,130 hectares of land.
In 2019, two Arab companies consolidated, with Elit Agrar acquiring Al Ravafed. On this occasion, they sought approval from the Commission for Protection of Competition. From the document, it is evident that Elit Agrar is present through the company Zobnatica, engaged in agricultural activities on an area of 1,621 hectares, of which only 114 hectares are owned by the company.
Al Ravafed Serbia is mainly involved in the cultivation of wheat, corn, sunflower, and soybeans, covering a total of about 10,400 hectares, of which 2,586 hectares are their own land. Available data show that Al Ravafed now has 2,625 hectares, and Zobnatica has 80 hectares.
The company NicCo, owned by Vanja and Irena Nicović, is becoming one of the significant landowners in Serbia through affiliated companies. According to available data, several connected firms collectively own just under 2,300 hectares.
NicCo Agrar is the largest among them, owning 1,080 hectares, and “Jedinstvo” Belo Blato owns around 800 hectares. The initial results of the Agricultural Census show that there is a total of 4,073,703 hectares of land available in Serbia. In the previous census from 2012, it was determined that there were 5,346,597 hectares available. Thus, it appears that construction has taken nearly a quarter, 23.1%, of the land from agriculture.
