Serbia says it plans to limit the import of key Macedonian products like wine and vegetables if Macedonia fails to withdraw a recent curb on the import of Serbian wheat and flour.

Media in both countries reported on Monday that trucks with Macedonian tomatoes were already being denied access to Serbia.

Farmers from Macedonia’s agricultural region of Strumica say Serbian buyers have started canceling orders at the last minute.

The Serbian Agriculture Ministry last week gave a ten-day deadline to Macedonia to withdraw the curbs or face tit-for-tat measures.

However, Serbia has denied that it has started blocking Macedonian tomatoes already.

“The measures are still in preparation,” Senad Mahmutovic, a state secretary in the Serbian ministry, said on Monday. “The reasons why our traders did not buy [Macedonian] vegetables might lie in sanitary and quality controls,” he added.

But a Serbian farmers leader from the region of Vojvodina, Djordje Bugarin, was more direct. “We should show our teeth to the Macedonians,” he told the media.

While Serbia accuses Macedonia of breaching the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, Macedonia insists it has a right to limit the imports.

Macedonian Agriculture Minister Ljupco Dimov said curbs on the import of wheat and flour were imposed to “protect our own production”. He said Macedonia had the right to take such action under the CEFTA arrangements.

The row has worried Macedonian farmers.

“If Serbia limits the import of tomatoes, it will deal a big blow to our agriculture because Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo are our biggest export destinations,” Risto Velkovski, from Strumica’s Regional Agricultural Union, said.

Macedonian wine producer also fear losing the Serbian market as they export more wine to Serbia than anywhere else.

“The consequences would be dire and must not be underestimated,” representatives of Macedonia’s Kamnik winery told NOVA TV.