Dragi Stojmirovski has never seen so many watermelons—it’s a bumper year in the Balkans. The glut has caused the price of melons to skydive, and farmers are leaving the fruit to rot in their fields.  But Stojmirovski, with the help of USAID, has turned a crisis into a triumph. He’s managed to bring Macedonian watermelon to the UK market.

To do this he’s had to act fast and meet high quality standards. That’s where USAID came in.

USAID’s AgBiz helped Stojmirovski’s company, Univerzal Promet, prepare and deliver a test shipment— each piece of fruit had to weigh between 4 – 4.5 kilos and be packed in cartons weighing no more than 25 kilos. USAID helped source the cartons and provided guidance on quality control procedures.

The UK importer not only approved the test shipment of watermelon, but has indicated interest in taking test shipments of other fruit and vegetables including peppers, eggplant and apples.

Universal Promet has experience exporting to other Balkan countries—but this is a breakthrough— into the lucrative European market.  Increasing exports in general, and to new markets, are two of Macedonian’s highest economic priorities.

“This is a great opportunity,” says Stojmirovski. “At first I wasn’t sure if we could respond quickly to the customer’s specifications, especially the requirements for packaging. But USAID’s AgBiz Program was right there, and without them, I don’t think we would have been able to close this deal.”