Exchanges are intermediaries in the trade of commodities, financial instruments that have commodities in their base or credit instruments that are secured by commodities. Commodity exchanges have gained in importance in recent decades. Commodity exchanges have evolved from the place where the physical purchase and sale of goods takes place to trade in commodity derivatives where standardized contracts−futures and options−are traded. The role of commodity exchanges in the development of the agribusiness sector has changed significantly from the initial stage of development when in the beginning the main role was to ensure efficient and transparent exchange of commodities, until the early 1970s when instruments were developed to enable risk management in the agribusiness sector. The largest volume of tradе on modern commodity exchanges is realized in standardized derivative contracts. Financial derivatives are one of the most successful financial innovations, with the volume of turnover increasing significantly. Within this chapter, special attention is paid to the analysis of the situation in the field of commodity exchange trading in the Western Balkan region. According to the results of the analysis, developed agricultural commodity exchange trade is not available to the farmers in these countries, nor are business risk management instruments available to participants in countries with developed commodity exchange systems. Analyses have shown that the sole commodity exchange with a significant volume of trade in the countries of the Western Balkans is the Novi Sad commodity exchange, trading on the spot and non‒standardized term market. In terms of the directions of development of regional commodity trade, the experience so far shows that high trading volume is a paramount for well‒developed commodity exchange. Therefore, the path to the development of commodity exchange trading is the establishment of a regional commodity exchange that would be a place of trade for all of the Western Balkan’s countries. By establishing a regional commodity exchange, participants in the agricultural sector would have the opportunity to securely and transparently trade and manage the price risk that have a pronounced volatility in recent years.

Emphasizing upper-middle-income Balkan Economies, this study focuses on the determinants of financial inclusion on a sample of individuals engaged in agriculture. Using logit estimations, we investigate socio-economic characteristics influencing financial inclusion, including owning a bank account and holding savings. Results reveal that individual characteristics, such as education, income, gender, and online payment usage are influential drivers. Financial inclusion is also impacted by economy-level variables including the share of agriculture in GDP and financial infrastructure density. The study underscores the importance of tailored policies to promote financial inclusion, particularly for vulnerable groups in agriculture-dependent economies.

Traditional types of short food supply chains have represented a significant part of food systems in most Central and Eastern European countries for centuries. In these countries, direct sales are the result of the dominance of small-scale family farms with subsistence and semi-subsistence farming, and their insufficient market integration in global food supply chains. The literature highlights that “short supply circuits” have undeniably contributed to reaching the sustainable growth of local communities and securing sustainable income of farmers. However, the authors' clear and critical opinion is that the positive contribution of short food supply chains to sustainable growth should not be generalised or excessively glorified. This attitude relies on the fact that the contribution of short food supply chains to all sustainability dimensions is determined by numerous factors and assumptions, and that the combination of different marketing channels is frequently required to maximise their total contribution to sustainable growth.

This paper investigates the impact of transparent allocation of proceeds on green bonds’ yields, providing insights to green bonds’ issuers for optimizing their financing terms. Using data from the EU state agencies’ green bond market, we applied a Prais-Winsten regression model with correlated panels corrected standard errors and common AR(1) to estimate the relationship between green bonds’ yields and various factors, including the transparency of proceeds. Transparent allocation of proceeds has a negative effect on green bonds’ yields, confirming that investors require lower returns when they are well-informed about a bond’s environmental goals. Additionally, higher credit ratings, and shorter remaining maturity are associated with lower green bonds’ yields. Transparent use of proceeds significantly influences green bonds’ yields, demonstrating that specifying the use of bond proceeds for environmentally friendly projects can lead to more favorable financing terms. Future research direction should provide additional classification of the green bonds’ transparency.

This study examines factors that influence bank lending to SMEs in the EU. We employ relevant firm-, industry-, and macro-level variables to confirm the significance of bank lending process determinants through multiple panel data models. We find that increase in GDP p.c., number of bank branches, banking market concentration, support measures, repayment in event of bankruptcy and shorter resolving time positively impact SMEs access to loans. SMEs with higher turnover and working in construction or manufacturing sectors have a better chance to obtain bank loans, while access to bank financing is negatively affected by increase in inflation rate and operations in service sector.

The International Conferences on Economics and Social Sciences (ICESS) organized by Bucharest University of Economic Studies provide an opportunity for all those interested in Economics and Social Sciences to discuss and exchange research ideas. The conference takes place in Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Piata Romana 6, Bucharest, Romania.Contact: conference.icess[@]ase.ro The papers presented at the Conference are available online in the Conference Proceedings series (ISSN 2704-6524): Volume 2019 Collaborative Research for Excellence in Economics and Social Sciences, ISBN 9788366675322 Volume 2020 Innovative Models to Revive the Global Economy, ISBN 9788395815072 Volume 2021 Resilience and Economic Intelligence Through Digitalization and Big Data Analytics, ISBN 9788366675704 The past years’ uncertainties and pressures resulted from the pandemic, alongside new developments in social technology, 5G, cloud computing, augmented and virtual reality, generated the perfect setting for the metaverse to gain traction. Several companies found there’s a critical need to redefine the work environment and started exploring the metaverse concept beyond the entertainment sector. Thus, new tools for collaboration and data visualization within a digital shared space are being created, aiming for a fully immersive interaction between the virtual and the physical worlds within the next few

The aim of the paper is to examine the stock market integration between Western Europe and selected countries of Central (Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and South-Eastern Europe (Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, and Romania). In order to achieve this goal, we used a bivariate BEKK model to obtain time-varying covariances and correlations for the period April 15, 2013 - March 29, 2019. Our results showed that Austria has the highest degree of integration among countries in Central Europe, followed by the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Additionally, Greece has the highest degree of integration among all countries in South-Eastern Europe, followed by Romania, and Croatia. Thus, stock markets of Central Europe are more integrated with Western Europe than stock markets of South-Eastern Europe.

The aim of the paper is to provide insights into the lending against crop receipts mechanism. Crop receipts emerged as promising financial instruments creating an additional type of collateral for agricultural producers that pledge their future agricultural production in order to finance ongoing production activities. At the same time, they offer an alternative investment opportunity to banks through the creation of a new asset class. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development supported Serbia in establishing a crop receipt system with the aim to serve as a pilot project for Europe. This is the first analysis of the crop receipts system in Serbia. The methodology applied consists of interviews with bank representatives, extensive literature research, descriptive statistics and comparative analyses. Results are indicating that the main shortcomings in the crop receipts system include the lack of specialised shareholders' knowledge, the absence of subsidization of interest rates on loans against crop receipts followed by the lack of appropriate Central bank policy, standardization and securitization.

The aim of this paper is to determine the current situation in the field of geographical indications schemes (GI), obstacles for futures development and to provide recommendations for GIs development in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. GIs quality schemes provide confirmation to consumers that foodstuff is a traditional product produced in a certain area and with certain attributes. Although the Western Balkan countries are reach in well-known traditional products and have excellent ago-ecological conditions for GIs production, this quality schemes are not developed. In this paper are applied comparative methodology, literature review and field research. Results are showing that path to improvement GIs is in the further legal framework harmonization with EU legal framework, providing flexibility for registration of the GIs foodstuff processing capacities, support to the producer's organization, shifting of the national GIs recognition to the EU, systematic support to the GIs etc.

The aim of this research is to amend traditional theories on bond pricing with additional determinants specific to green bonds. We introduce a new term, ‘green bond transparency’, and apply panel data analysis to EU government green bonds. Bonds that aim to finance a specific project are considered transparent, while they are classified as non-transparent if the proceeds are used to finance a range of projects or their use is to be determined later. We empirically confirm the significant effect of transparency on green bond yields. The practical implication of the findings is the creation of a foundation for issuing green bonds under more favorable financing conditions.

The aim of this paper is to study municipal green bonds as fixed-income instruments used for environmentally friendly projects. This research was motivated by the absence of an effective global CO2 pricing scheme, making green bonds one of the most important instruments to tackle climate change. After an overview of the U.S. municipal green bond market, yields of municipal green bonds vs. ordinary municipal bonds were analysed. S&P U.S. Municipal Green Bond Index and S&P U.S. Municipal Bond Index were used in the study. The methodological framework includes a review of relevant literature, descriptive statistics with correlation analysis and hypotheses testing. As initially expected, significant positive correlation between green bond and ordinary bond yields was found, where green municipal bonds generate slightly lower yields than otherwise similar ordinary bonds. The existence of a statistically significant yield discount, i.e., a green premium, has not been confirmed.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the current situation and potential for the development of organic agriculture in Serbia. Despite the favourable agri-ecological conditions for the development of organic agriculture, this branch of agriculture in Serbia significantly lags behind the world and European average in terms of the percentage of agricultural land under organic production. The motive for the conducted analysis within this paper stems from the fact that the demand for organic products in the EU has been increasing at a rate of about 10% annually in recent years, which represents a chance for Serbian agriculture. Data sources used are from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia (MAFWM), Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS) and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL) while the basic research method is interview with experts and participants in organic agriculture. The results of the analysis show that the main limiting factors for the development of Serbian organic agriculture are dominance of small and economically weak producers and insufficient consumer confidence in organic products. The path to the development of organic agriculture is in the increased cooperatives activity and the improvement of consumer confidence in organic products.

The paper examines factors influencing development of the public warehouse system. Public warehouse system primary role is to provide stakeholders in agribusiness financing against stored commodity as collateral. Case study is conducted in Serbia. Interviews with banks, analyses of the public warehouse results, computational analyses and intensive literature research were conducted. Most important factors for lending against warehouse receipts from bankers' perspectives are guarantee system performances followed by efficient enforcement procedure, efficient public warehouse surveillance, favourable central bank's rating of warehouse receipts and subsidies. According to the results, Serbian public warehouse legal framework is properly established resulting in fast development of the public warehouse system in first years. After 2014 system deteriorated primarily due to the absence of inspection and Indemnity fund low guarantee performance. Lessons learned from Serbia point out that besides proper legal framework, implementation and favourable business environment are paramount for successful public warehouse system.

The apricot is considered as one of the most delicious temperate fruit, a highly appreciated stone fruit and a valuable raw material for processing. The Republic of Serbia is one of the leading apricot producers in Southeast Europe, but the assortment is limited by a small number of cultivars harvested, mostly in the ripening season of ?Magyar kajszi?. In order to introduce the most suitable cultivars in the production, having high yield and high quality for consumption and various forms of processing, introduced and domestic cultivars have been intensively studied. In Serbia, apricots are mostly marketed fresh and processed for jams and spirits, but demand for high-quality dried fruits is increasing. To preserve the nutritional and sensory quality of fresh apricots, choosing the best drying technique is significant, and the most preferred technique is the reduction of moisture through convective drying. The aim of the paper was to compare the potential of the apricot cultivars ?Magyar kajszi?, ?Novosadska rodna?, ?NS-4? and ?NS-6? for dried fruit production by two-phase technology - combined osmotic and convective drying, as well as the profitability of apricot drying on small family farms. Cultivars ?NS-4? and ?Novosadska rodna? were found to be suitable for combined drying technology. The highest score in the sensory evaluation of the dried apricots was given to ?NS-4?, and then to ?Novosadska rodna?. The results indicate that the combined osmotic and convective drying of apricot rather than selling fresh fruits can be a profitable and important added value tool for small family farms.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the role of reward-based crowdfunding in farm financing, with a focus on its likelihood of success. The study uses a sample of 1,566 projects from the Kickstarter platform between 2014 and 2020. We added the level of urbanisation and relative importance of agriculture in the country's economy to the basic elements to assess the importance of the crowdfunding. We run a logistic regression model to investigate factors that motivate investment decisions. We discovered a statistically significant negative correlation between the self-set campaign goal and project success, as well as a small positive impact of number of backers and a positive impact of the importance of agriculture in the country's economy on crowdfunding success. In an era of rapid innovation and the rise of social networks, this paper contributes to the current literature on the agri-food industry's reword-based crowdfunding approach.

This aim of this paper is to analyse possibilities and potential effects of soft commodity derivative market on the development of risk management practice within the CEE. Agricultural producers and other participants in the soft commodity market in CEE are lacking local commodity market. As a consequence, they are relying on hedging strategies on remote derivative markets that results in basis risk. The local soft commodity derivative market with delivery in CEE ports could significantly improve the risk management practice. One of the most important barriers in developing commodity derivatives market is market liquidity. Joint commodity market between different commodity exchanges in the CEE could lead to increase of necessary liquidity. Attempts to develop commodity derivative markets in individual countries within the region were proven to be inefficient lacking the volume of trade. Methodology used in this paper is based on relevant literature review, consultation with experts in commodity tradeand market participants and descriptive statistics applied in order to determine grain price volatility. Results of the research indicate that grain price volatility is high causing the need for application of hedging strategies at the commodity exchanges markets. Second, new EU common regulative is providing improved framework for joint commodity exchange clearing by single clearinghouse. Established market with delivery on Black See ports is of special importance for regional stakeholders.

Information on the linkage between total and operating production cost and market price of wheat allows the farmer to forecast the direction of the market price and to make the proper decision towards reducing the immanent business risks on the farm - whether to sell wheat before harvest, immediately after harvest or to store and sell later. The paper is in line with the hypothesis that market price for storable agricultural products has empirically confirmed bottom limit. If the market price reaches the level of operating costs, farmers will stop the sales and store their product in anticipation of a higher price in the near future. This behavior is based on the premise that a supply shortage will stop further decline in wheat price. The analyzed ratios of market price to total costs and market price to operating costs allow the direct comparison of production profitability at different time periods without the need to eliminate inflation effects. The results of the analysis indicate a very strong correlation between operating cost and market price of wheat, compared to positive and to certain extent less significant correlation between total cost of production and market price. The first indicator, characterized by lower variability, thus, allows distinct forecast of the future wheat price behavior and timely decision on the appropriate price risk hedging strategy.

Poljoprivredna proizvodnja u Hrvatskoj, općenito, ima važan značaj pri čemu biljna proizvodnja čini više od 50% ukupne poljoprivredne bruto proizvodnje. Najveću ulogu imaju žitarice i uljarice čija proizvodnja dominira u Panonskoj regiji s naglaskom na njen istočni dio. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati zasijane površine, ostvarenu proizvodnju i vanjskotrgovinsku razmjenu kukuruza, pšenice, ječma, soje, suncokreta i uljane repice tijekom petnaestogodišnjeg razdoblja (2003. - 2017.) u Hrvatskoj. Od ukupnih obradivih površina u analiziranom razdoblju žitarice (kukuruz, pšenica i ječam) zauzimaju oko 60% obradivih površina, a uljarice (soja, suncokret i uljana repica) oko 13%. Analizom podataka utvrđen je trend smanjenja površina pod žitaricama, naročito kukuruza, dok su uljarice pokazale trend rasta pri čemu su površine soje i uljane repice u zadnje tri godine gotovo udvostručene. Pristupanje Republike Hrvatske jedinstvenom tržištu Europske unije pozitivno je utjecalo na povećanje neto izvoza žitarica i uljarica. Prosječni volumen neto izvoza žitarica i uljarica za pet godina članstva u EU se više nego utrostručio u odnosu na prosjek predpristupnog perioda promatranog od 2003. do 2013. godine. Domaće cijene žitarica i uljarica prate trendove cijena na jedinstvenom tržištu uz stabilan razvoj nakon ulaska Hrvatske u Europsku uniju.

Variability in the percentage of seed germination was studied in four winter barley cultivars ('Jagodinac', 'Premium', 'NS 489' and 'NS 495'), grown under four nitrogen application rates (control N0=0, N1=20, N2=40 and N3=60 kg ha-1) during two years of the experiment. The experiment was carried out as a randomised block design in 5m2 plots and with four replications. In both experimental years, the average seed germination was over 90.0% for all barley cultivars and in each nitrogen fertilisation treatment. The maximum seed germination percentage was 98.0% in 'Premium' in the second year in the treatment N3=60 kg ha-1, and minimum germination percentage (90.1%) was also recorded in 'Premium' 'in the first year of the experiment in the unfertilised control (N0=0 kg ha-1). The obtained values of seed germination significantly differed among cultivars in the first and second year. Also, the average values of seed germination under four N fertilisation treatments were significantly different in both years. The average values for both years of the experiment were significantly different among cultivars and treatments. The values of seed germination for all cultivars increased with increasing nitrogen rates, suggesting that phenotypic variability in seed germination was affected by nitrogen fertilisation, which indicated a high value (81.87%) of the component of phenotypic variance for seed germination.

Abstract Background and purpose Amiodarone is commonly use in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), but the organ toxicity side effects limit its long-term use. We investigated the rates of and reasons for permanent amiodarone discontinuation among patients with AF in contemporary clinical practice. Methods A single-centre, ongoing, registry-based observational longitudinal study included consecutive AF patients prescribed with amiodarone in our hospital from January 2015 to December 2017. All patients underwent a loading protocol of 400–600 mg of amiodarone daily for 1–2 weeks, followed by 200–400mg daily for 4–8 weeks and 200mg daily or 1000mg weekly thereafter. Results Of 657 AF patients taking amiodarone (Mean age 62.2±11.0, female n=215 (32.6%), hypertension n=504 (76.7%), diabetes mellitus n=107 (16.3%), coronary arterial disease n=139 (19.8%), History of Myocardial infarction 86 (13.1%), Stroke/TIA 60 (9.1%), chronic kidney disease 157 (23.9%)), the drug was permanently discontinued in total of 248 patients (37.7%). The reasons for amiodarone discontinuation are shown in Figure. On multivariable Cox-regression analysis, physician's decision (HR 5.6; 95% CI 3.9–7.9, p<0.001) and amiodarone side effects (HR 3.9; 95% CI 2.9–5.1, p<0.001) were significantly associated with permanent amiodarone discontinuation. The overall time to discontinuation was 23.2±24.1 months. Compared with others, time to discontinuation was shorter in patients post AF ablation (17.3±21.3 vs 24.5±24.5, p=0.05), longer in those with AF progression (29.2±31.0 vs 20.9±20.3, p=0.014) and similar in patients with amiodarone side effects (23.7±17.7 vs 23.0±26.8, p=0.813). Pulmonary toxicity and proarrhythmia were not observed among study patients (Figure). Chart 1 Conclusion Our study showed that permanent discontinuation of amiodarone in contemporary clinical practice was due to the drug side effects in 12% of amiodarone-treated AF patients, occurring after a mean 2-year treatment course. The most prevalent side effect was thyroid dysfunction, whereas the prevalence of proarrhythmic effect was low. Notably, physician's fear of complications (which may not always be justified), also was an independent driver of permanent amiodarone discontinuation. More data are needed to inform optimal amiodarone use in AF patients in daily practice.