Frutorga enterprise from Novo Selo focuses its business on nature

Momčilo finished philosophy, and his sister Tijana graduated in economics, but even as quite young they began to discover the secrets of organic production, along with their father Dragan, who is an agro economist. After finishing school, Momčilo and Tijana were thinking about returning to their home town and came up with the idea to start a business where they could apply the acquired knowledge. And that is how they started Frutorga, a family business engaged in the production and processing of organic dried and frozen fruit. They mainly base their work on cooperatives and group certification of organic production of "Oblačinska cherries", plums of the "Stanley" variety, as well as "Russian cherry plum". The fruit production process is conducted according to all organic standards for which they have the necessary licenses. Today, the enterprise Frutorga has a property that covers over 80 hectares of orchards, where they grew cherries, plums, strawberries, apples and quinces. Momčilo Paunović retells how they decided to advance their business and improve it significantly.  

Although our business was doing well over the years, we encountered certain challenges, including the one related to dependency on others. We used to pay for freezing service especially in the period when there was a bottleneck in the production. It often happened that our associates even when they had promised to receive our, postpone receipt of our products. For that reason, last year we decided to build a refrigerator and a tunnel for deep-freezing fruit, which turned out to be crucial for further business. We applied for the EU PRO programme public call offering the EU grants to enterprises, and got the opportunity to save, freeze and process more products, but also to expand the cooperative network, which brought us even better market placement. Now the production process takes place in completely controlled conditions, from vegetation to the final product, with a guarantee of food safety and security. "

There is a clear work division within the Frutorg family business. Momčilo is in charge of certification, production monitoring and maintaining contacts with customers. Tijana deals with paperwork, finances, as well as quality control systems, while their father Dragan is in charge of organising sales and procurement. Momčilo says they are planning to expand the team. "Thanks to the development of business, the conditions for creating new jobs have finally been met. We have hired three new workers, and in a couple of months, when the season starts, we plan to hire at least ten more." With a great business atmosphere and love for family business, the Paunović are especially proud to be one of the largest producers of organic cherries among subcontractors.

As a socially responsible enterprise, Frutorga provided financial support to the primary school "9 October” in Prokuplje. "This school is special, because it used to have the most beautiful school park in the country, for which it was famous. Over time, the school building began to age, and we wanted to contribute to the renovation of the summer classroom and return the former splendor to the school park. The teacher room was also renovated while the school bought a mower to maintain the park.  The school park just needs new baskets, and it will be like new again ", Momčilo Paunović ends his story.

The European Union, in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration, supported over 200 micro and small enterprises and entrepreneurs with more than 4.3 million Euros through the EU PRO programme. The funds were used to purchase new equipment with which companies improved production and competitiveness and created new jobs, while in Novi Pazar as many as 17 enterprises were supported.

Through the activities of the EU PRO programme, the European Union contributes to the more balanced socio-economic development of Serbia with a total of 25 million Euros. The programme aims to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of micro and small enterprises, improving the business environment and strengthening social cohesion in 99 local self-government units, in two regions: the Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia and the Region of Southern and Eastern Serbia. The activities in the field are implemented by UNOPS.