Most of the land in Serbia is privately owned. About 1,700.000 farmers hold 82 per cent of the arable land. Serbia produces a marked surplus of food. Wheat, maize, oil, sugar, fruit, wine and meat are important export articles today.

The express concern of the state for agricultural and food industry, gives this branch of the economy priority though legislation and economic measures, designed to strengthen agricultural production as a critically important factor in economic prosperity.

Thanks to a high degree of mechanization, the use of technology and successful selection and production of high-yield seeds, agricultural institutes in Serbia have introduced some of the most productive types of wheat, maize and sunflower seed that return high yields. In 1990, for example, the average yield of these cultures in tons per hectare was: wheat 4.41, maize 5.76, sunflower 2.17 and sugarbeet 44.90.