Economy
Economic capacities
The City of Bijeljina is the second most developed local community in Republika Srpska, and all four sectors of economy are active in this community:
1. Primary sector – agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing:
Favourable location at the edge of the Pannonian Basin and almost completely flat terrain enabled the development of agriculture, so the most of economy is based on agriculture, and Semberija is considered a granary of Republika Srpska and BaH. The most produced are crops – 80% (wheat, corn, barley), vegetables – 8% (cabbage, for which Semberija is known in the whole of former Yugoslavia, watermelon, cucumber, pepper, tomato...), industrial and roughage – 12% (sugar beet, tobacco, alfalfa...).
Farmers in Semberija are turning towards growing vegetables in protected areas, and there is a large, so far unused potential for heating greenhouses using geothermal water. The City Administration encourages the production of healthy food, because the environment is preserved and unpolluted by heavy industry or genetically modified organisms. Livestock production has been intensively developing recently, mostly pig and cattle breeding.
2. Secondary sector – industry, mining, civil engineering and manufacturing trades
Industrial sector in the City of Bijeljina consists of several different plants.
In processing of agricultural products two big companies lead the industry – Food Industry “Sava – Semberija” (processing and preservation of fruit and vegetables), as well as “Spektar-drink” and “Tanasić” (processing and preservation of fruit and vegetables). Numerous small and medium sized enterprises are engaged in the production of bakery products – “Bodaxco”, bakery “Lazić”, as well as production of cakes – pastry shops “San Marco” and “Mozart”...
The largest companies in meat processing industry are “ZP Komerc” and “Globus”, and dairy “Dule” is engaged in milk processing.
Semberija also has several fodder producers that have reached the highest standards in this industry. “Savić Company”, “Rakić Komerc”, “Intergaj” and “Kiko” stand out. Company “Agro BN” is the only producer of plant protection products in Republika Srpska and BaH. Within this company, there is Agricultural Institute in Bijeljina, which is one of the best equipped institutes of this kind in Republika Srpska.
In the field of metal industry, Aviation Institute “Orao” is engaged in the production and overhaul of equipment in aviation industry, and “PASS” is engaged in the production of spare parts for cars.
“Drina” from Bijeljina produces construction material.
The biggest plants in the wood industry, for production of furniture, joinery, panel boards and semi-finished wood products are “Mega drvo” and “Eurotimber”.
“Trifunčević”, “Buk promet”, “Intergaj”, “Brodac promet”, “Graditelj”, “Perić”, “Rankom inženjering”, “Nekoms project”, “Rimaks invest” are engaged in civil engineering.
3. Tertiary sector - transportation and telecommunications, trade, tourism, catering, crafts, banking and utilities
Geostrategic location of Bijeljina and Semberija allows for a fast development of activities in this sector.
The City of Bijeljina, with approximately 115,000 inhabitants attracted the largest regional retail chains that opened well stocked mega markets (“Tropic”, “Fis”, “Robot”, “Bingo”, and the largest local supermarket chain is “Bost”...). Also, goods of numerous global and domestic brands can be bought, because the manufacturers have their branch offices or distributors in Bijeljina. Beside the competition which offers local customers lower prices compared to other places in Republika Srpska and BaH, the possibility to decrease the price of goods by the amount of value added tax (VAT) makes shopping in Bijeljina very affordable for customers from neighbouring countries. Most of them come from Serbia.
Agro Trade Centre “Knez Ivo od Semberije” has developed into one of the largest wholesale markets for agricultural products in the north-east Republika Srpska and BaH. This location hosts offices of many companies and branches. Agro Trade Centre is the place for organisation of fairs, and the Agricultural Fair in September is organised every year.
Location on the banks of two rivers, spa potential, numerous religious buildings, big investments in the development of ethno-tourism, cultural happenings and entertainment, made tourism one of the carriers of economic development of the City. Additional information about tourist potential of the City of Bijeljina can be found on the web site of the Tourist Organisation of Bijeljina.