Medicinal plants are of major importance in the biodiversity of the Yugoslav flora. In our country numerous medicinal plant species are autochthonous, i.e. they are known to originate under our climatic and ecological conditions. Our natural conditions offer substantial possibilities of sustainable production and processing of medicinal plants, especially those intended for export.

Increasing the production and export of high quality medicinal plant products tends to contribute to substantial economic effects: increasing the number of employees, rationalising the use of natural resources, contributing to successful and profitable inclusion of our country in the international trade and economic relationships, achieving higher foreign currency income known to be of major importance in the positive trade and payments balance of Yugoslavia.

It is of substantial importance to ensure an efficient and high quality protection of the biodiversity in order to create favourable conditions contributing to intensive production and processing of medicinal plants. The medicinal plant biodiversity represents the basic precondition for achieving a high quality production and processing of both medicinal plants and aromatic herbs which may be expected to contribute to sustainable agricultural and food-processing industry development.

Based on the data regarding world trade trends the paper analyses the possibilities and modes of focusing the production and processing of medicinal plants in our country on export. In addition, the possibilities of implementing international standards, especially those pertaining to ecology, were analysed considering the need to enhance the production of commodities intended for export. Thus, a strategy needs to be developed linking economic and ecological objectives and contributing to profitable and high quality production.

Key words: medicinal plants, biodiversity, sustainable development, import-export, natural resource management, medicinal plant production and processing.