A word from Olivier Couery, Managing Director of DuPont SRB d.o.o.

1.  What are the core values of the DuPont SRB d.o.o. business philosophy?

Wherever we operate as a company, we always follow 4 core values

Safety and Health.
Environmental Stewardship.
Ethical Behaviour.
Respect for People

Those 4 core values are not there just to be nice on the paper. For all DuPont employees & all companies or individuals who know DuPont people, it means really something. Each of them finds its roots in the already long company history.

In Serbia, pushing forward those core values is a daily challenge, especially in regards with business ethics. We experienced number of similar cases investing in countries still in transition phase with their local economy. So we are here to stay, & to participate in country development bringing new investment when we believe it is right time.

2.  How do you perceive DuPont SRB d.o.o. strategy for further growth on this market?

DuPont in Serbia like anywhere else in the world looks for sustainable growth. Investments here are driven by the same motto: "Increasing shareholder and societal value while reducing our environmental footprint along the value chains in which we operate".

In Serbia our biggest activity so far is in the field of agriculture & agro-industry.

Since already many years we are offering to Serbian farmers top quality products for high performance with their crops. Corn hybrids from Pioneer® are very famous & DuPont Crop Protection team is also offering number of very famous & popular products to control weeds, pests & diseases in all range of crops you may find in Serbia.

Our JV Solae is also a very well established business in Serbia with long lasting collaboration with meat industry.

All those core businesses are permanently bringing innovation to the market place to grow or maintain their already significant market-share.

Therefore the biggest opportunity for growth might come from other DuPont businesses which are not yet very much participating in Serbian market & could easily be associated to some big projects related to country infrastructure development. I am thinking specially about performance materials and also safety & protection with quite big market potential.

3.  What is in your view the role of the FIC and what are your expectations?

When we joined FIC this autumn, our motivation was extremely clear. We are facing a number of issues in this country related to regulation of "pesticides" or "plant protection products".

As an example, we are concerned with lack of control of toxicological data for a large number of products which are very easily imported & offered to Serbian farmers. We understand motivation from Serbian government to give access to farmers to some cheaper products. But it shouldn't be without control & shouldn't bring risk for food safety and health.

As a member company of Crop Life International, DuPont is promoting all around the world safe use of pesticides to answer the concerns expressed by citizens regarding food safety & health. All our products obey to some high international standards not really recognized by Serbian authorities defending local standards.

We are urging local authorities to take strong actions to normalize situation rising level of requirement for those imported "unknown products" from toxicological stand point.

Of course some companies see their interest in keeping status-quo.

Expectations from FIC then are simply to get support in those talks with members of government in charge of those questions. And more generally it is also opportunity to join a large number of dynamic companies sharing similar business philosophy & to develop mutually profitable contacts.