Montenegro’s agriculture, forestry and fishing sector recorded a 17.5% increase in sales and purchases during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Market activity strengthened further in June, when turnover rose 35.5% from the previous month. Despite stronger domestic trading activity, the country’s food market continued to rely heavily on imported products.
Food imports continue to dominate
Imports remained significantly higher than exports across most agricultural categories. During the first six months of 2026, Montenegro imported meat and edible meat products worth approximately €69.4 million, while dairy products, eggs and related goods totalled €38.6 million. Imports of cereal, flour and pastry preparations reached €44.2 million, while miscellaneous food preparations amounted to €45.4 million. The country also imported vegetables worth €19.5 million, fruit and nuts worth €26.4 million, beverages worth €65.9 million, and processed meat and fish products worth €24.8 million.
Exports remain substantially lower
Domestic exports were considerably smaller than imports despite growth in several product groups. Meat exports increased 22.2% to €18.1 million, while beverage exports rose 25.6% to €15.8 million.
Exports of vegetables remained below €700,000, fruit exports were around €858,000, and cereal exports generated less than €400,000.
Structural challenges limit domestic supply
The continued imbalance reflects structural constraints within Montenegro’s agricultural sector rather than a lack of domestic production. Agricultural holdings remain small and fragmented, while processors continue to face challenges in securing consistent production volumes, product quality, certification and year-round supply. At the same time, limited logistics infrastructure and cold-storage capacity restrict the ability of producers to supply hotels, supermarket chains and export markets.
Tourism demand creates market opportunities
The country’s tourism industry generates strong seasonal demand for food, beverages and hospitality supplies, although much of that demand is still met through imports Hotels and restaurants require predictable deliveries, standardized products, traceability and competitive pricing, conditions that local producers often struggle to meet consistently on a commercial scale.
Investment and value-added production
The increase in agricultural turnover provides a basis for further development of the sector. Investment in collection centres, refrigerated transport, irrigation systems, laboratories, packaging facilities and food processing could help retain a larger share of tourism-related spending within Montenegro. In addition, long-term purchasing agreements between hotel groups, retailers and producer organisations could reduce uncertainty throughout the supply chain.
Agricultural policy could also place greater emphasis on value-added processing alongside primary production. While Montenegro may find it difficult to compete with larger agricultural producers in bulk commodities, it has opportunities to expand production of higher-value meat, dairy, wine, fish, olive, honey, fruit and speciality food products linked to tourism and premium export markets. The first-half figures indicate that stronger agricultural turnover alone has not reduced Montenegro’s dependence on imported food, underscoring the importance of building stronger commercial links between farms, processors, retailers and tourism operators.
