Legalization

Hemp cultivation is legal in Serbia and is regulated by the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances. This law established that the cultivation of hemp is permitted for the production of fiber, seeds for animal feed and processing, testing of seed material, and production and trade of seed. In order to cultivate hemp in Serbia, a permit must be obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (referred to as “the Ministry” in this article).

The Ministry published the Rulebook on Conditions for Growing Hemp in July 2013. The rulebook outlines the varieties of hemp that can be grown, conditions for obtaining the hemp permit as well as costs and validity period, and the regulations that hemp cultivators must follow.

Since there is no mention of CBD in Serbia’s law, some hemp businesses produce hemp-derived CBD products, ensuring that it contains less than 0.3% THC.

Hemp Permits Available in Serbia

Cultivation

An application for a permit to grow hemp must be submitted to the Ministry no later than April 30 of the current year. The permit is valid for one production year. Only hemp varieties that are found in the Register of Agricultural Plant Varieties and contain less than 0.3% THC can be cultivated. One of the conditions for obtaining the permit is to use hemp seeds that have been produce, packaged, declared and marked in accordance with the Law on Seeds. Also, licensed hemp growers must cultivate hemp on at least 0.5 hectares of land.

The cultivation of hemp for further reproduction can be performed only by a legal entity or an entrepreneur who is registered in the Register of Producers of Seeds, Seedlings, Mycelia of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms.

The application must include the following information:

• name, registered office, and registration number of the legal entity or entrepreneur, or the name, address, unique citizen registration number, and telephone number of the individual wishing to cultivate hemp
• purpose of growing hemp
• plot details (ownership, basis of use, cadastral municipality, plot number, cadastral plot number and area on which hemp cultivated is planned)
• information on the hemp seeds to be used for sowing (variety name, category and quantity of seeds)
• planned sowing and harvesting date
• statement by the applicant that they are familiar with the provisions of Article 87 of the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances
• date of submission of the application and the applicant’s signature

The applicant must also submit the following information:

• proof of the basis for using agricultural land (ownership or certificate or land lease agreement certified by the court).
• copy of the decision on registration in the Register of Business Entities by which the legal entity or entrepreneur proves that it is registered to carry out at least one of the following activities:
  • cultivation of grain (except rice), legumes and oilseeds
  • cultivation of plants for fiber production
  • production of oils and fats
• contract for the production and purchase of hemp concluded by a legal entity, entrepreneur, or natural person with a legal entity registered for the performance of the activities referred to in the previous bullet point, with proof to support this.
• proof that the responsible person in the business has not been punished for the criminal offenses of unauthorized production and distribution of narcotic drugs, unauthorized possession of narcotic drags or enabling the consumption of narcotic drugs from the Criminal Code.
• copy of identity card of the responsible person.
• copy of the Seed Quality Declaration with the delivery note.
• copy of the invoice for the purchased hemp seeds.
• if applying to produce seeds for further propagation – copy of the decision on registration in the Register of Producers of Seeds, Seedlings, Mycelia of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms is needed.

Once received, a copy of the hemp cultivation permit must be submitted to the ministry responsible for health and the ministry responsible for internal affairs. The original hemp cultivation permit shall be kept for one year from its date of issuance along with the original invoice for purchased hemp seeds, declaration on seed quality with visible data on the processor (i.e. importer, quantities and varieties of purchased hemp seeds), original packaging in which the hemp seeds were packaged, and the label from the hemp seed package.

Additionally, there are three annual reports that licensed hemp growers have to submit to the Ministry. The first report must be submitted by the end of June each year, detailing:

• the area of land sown with plants during the current year, including name of registered variety of the plant, name and number of the cadastral plot.
• the assessment of the area of land on which the grower intends to cultivate plants during next calendar year.

The second report, in accordance with the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances, must be submitted prior to harvesting hemp and shall provide the planned time, land and area on which the grower intends to harvest hemp.

The third report must be submitted at least 5 days before harvest, the following information:

• area of land and the method of disposal of the plants.
• name and number of cadastral parcel for plots of land.
• amount of collected hemp and hemp seeds.

Production and Sale of Psychoactive Controlled Substances Made from Hemp

An application for a permit to produce and sell hemp products can only be submitted to the Ministry by:

• a legal entity licensed to produce medicine in accordance with the regulations governing the field of medicines and medical devices
• a legal entity that produces chemicals and is registered in the register of chemicals in accordance with the regulations governing the field of chemicals
• other legal entities, in accordance with the Law

The application must include the following information:

1. name and headquarters of the legal entity
2. name and quantity of the psychoactive controlled substance that is used in production for which the license is being obtained
3. name, address, registration number and other information on the person responsible for the production and sale of the psychoactive controlled substance and their deputy
4. list of equipment for the production
5. period for which the license is requested
6. description of the technological production process

To obtain the permit, the legal entity must meet certain requirements:

• have a person responsible for the production and sale of the psychoactive controlled substance who:
  • has not been sentenced for an economic offense for an act in the field of psychoactive controlled substances
  • has had no proceedings initiated against them for a criminal offense in the field of production and sale of narcotic drugs
• have appropriate conditions for the storage of psychoactive controlled substances in special rooms where no other products shall be stored or that has metal safes
• fulfills all other conditions required by the regulations

The license is issued within 90 days from the date of the receipt of the application, if the application is approved. The license is valid for five years from the date of its issuance.

Import and Export

Permits for import/export are also issued by the Ministry. The import permit is valid for 3 months while the export permit is valid for the period determined by the Ministry, depending on the terms of the import permit that has been issued by the country to which the product is being exported.

An application for import/export permit must include the following information:

1. name and address of producers, exporters, importers and intermediaries
2. international non-proprietary name (INN) of each substance or, if not possible, another name of the substance
3. amount of psychoactive controlled substance being exported or imported
4. mode of transportation as well as the border crossing on the territory of the Republic of Serbia
5. other required data

Once the import/export activity is complete, within 15 days the legal entity must notify the Ministry in writing detailing the quantity of hemp imported or exported. Even if no import/export activity was performed, the legal entity must still notify the Ministry and all copies of issued permits must be returned.

Hemp Market in Serbia

Hemp is currently cultivated on more than 1,000 hectares in Serbia. However, some estimate that it was once grown on 70,000 hectares which indicates that Serbia’s land is very suitable for hemp cultivation and with the rising use of hemp in industrial as well as wellness markets, hemp production in the country can increase again. One region – Vojvodina – is deemed to be especially suitable for hemp cultivation and an estimated 50,000 hectares of hemp were grown there during the first half of the 21st century.

The Hemp Association Konoplja was founded in 2015, with members growing hemp on 60 hectares. In 2016, growers planted 172.72 hectares of hemp according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Plant Protection, with 84% of land cultivated in the province of Vojvodina. In 2017, this rose to 281.52 acres with Vojvodina again leading the way and accounting for this time nearly 98% of land under cultivation.

By 2019, 60 producers were members of the association, growing hemp on 922.92 hectares – nearly triple the area in 2018. In the 2020 agricultural season, hemp cultivation area fell to 630.15 hectares due to the lockdown during the Covid19 pandemic which resulted in some farmers being unable to submit a permit application. The province of Vojvodina accounted for around 65% of the area under hemp cultivation in 2020, suggesting that other regions of the country started to participate more in hemp cultivation.

Farmers were estimating potential profit of 370-8,530 EUR per hectare, according to information found on Serbia’s hemp market in a “Perspective for a hemp renaissance in Republika Sprska” by Igor Kalaba.

In 2016, a hemp cooperative was registered under the same name. The cooperative signs purchase contracts with its members and processes hemp into finished products for sale on the Serbian market under the GRAMINA brand. In 2019, there were 15 of their products on the market.

On June 1, 2022, the Hemp Association announced that it became a member of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA).

One survey conducted for a study on the effect of industrial hemp cultivation on the marketing potential of rural areas found that among randomly chosen participants in Serbia, nearly 85% would like to have easier ways to purchase CBD oil and industrial hemp products, and 68% stated that they believe there should be specialized stores of industrial hemp products in Serbia – both of these statistics show the public’s interest in hemp and hemp-derived products.

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