“It Was an Isolated Case, Solutions Expected in Early April”
The poultry sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing serious issues following the EU’s temporary ban on exports of chicken meat due to a bird flu outbreak at a farm in Petrovo. The consequences are already evident: thousands of tons of meat remain on the domestic market, additional storage costs are rising, and producers are incurring losses. The Chair of the Coordination Committee of Poultry Producers, Velibor Popović,spoke to N1 about the gravity of the situation.
Exports Expected to Resume in the First Two Weeks of April
Popović confirmed that the ban has been in place for almost a month and that all prescribed measures have already been implemented.
“This situation has definitely affected the poultry sector. We have suffered certain losses and faced challenges. This situation has been ongoing for a month. We hope that the 30-day period since the measures were implemented, as required by regulations, will expire by April 5. We expect that export will be approved in early April. Export will not resume on the same day approval is granted, but we believe it will happen during that period, as no new cases of bird flu have been recorded. It was an isolated case on the farm. These things are not unusual. But, due to such situations, we have been banned from exporting to the EU for the second year in a row,” Popović said.
As a long-term solution, Popović stressed the need to introduce regionalization.
“This is why we are persistent in pursuing regionalization. The country would be at much less risk with regionalization, and only areas within 10-kilometre radius would be subject to restrictions, while everything else would function normally. It is clear that bird flu will be present in the future, so we must prepare for it. In the long run, everything depends on new bird flu outbreaks, but I sincerely hope that will not be the case,” Popović said.
Financial Losses and Freezing of Meat Issues
When asked about figures, Popović said that losses do not amount to tens of millions, but are still significant, especially due to changes in the sales plan and storage costs.
“It is difficult to say anything with accuracy right now. To be fair, we are not talking about tens of millions, but there are still losses. Some meat is being frozen, which was not plannedinitially, and this creates additional storage and preservation costs. Also, frozen meat is usually sold at lower prices, and we already face competition from the countries offering very cheap products. The damage is evident for those affected by the outbreak, and they have already spoken to the institutions of Republika Srpska. That part will be resolved in accordance with the agreement. For the rest of the sector, more concrete figures will be available in two to three months, “he said.
The meat that was not exported to the EU was redirected.
“Part of the meat was placed on CEFTA markets because those countries did not close their borders, except for Kosovo, which follows EU regulations. The other part was placed on the domestic market, which increased supply, and a significant amount of meat is frozen. The sector will survive this situation. It would be far worse if new cases occurred and if the ban lasted longer. In that case, the situation would be very serious,” he explained.
Dependency on the EU Market and Sector Resilience
Popović shared estimates on the quantities currently blocked, emphasizing that the domestic market is saturated and that the only way forward is export.
“I do not know the exact figures, but according to our estimates,around 1,500 tons of meat should have been exported in March. We also estimate that 15,000 to 20,000 tons are exported annually. It is difficult to say with accuracy, as production increases every year. The market of Bosnia and Herzegovina is already saturated so all future growth depends on export. We have markets and our products are accepted, but such situations always carry the risk of oversupply on the domestic market,” he said.
Despite the challenges, the poultry sector is one of the most stable branches of the economy.
“We are not a sector widely represented in the media, but we have our methods. We are facing this situation for the second year in a row, but we are still here. We are moving forward. We are one of the few economic branches achieving a surplus in foreign trade for the third consecutive year. This speaks volumes about our resilience. Of course, if this situation were to last at least five months, there would be a decrease in production,leading to serious problems within the sector. But these short-term setbacks can be endured,” he added.
Support from the State and Cooperation with the Institutions
In the end, Popović commented on the role of the country and described cooperation with the authorities as fair.
“We do have support. The support comes from multiple levels. Direct incentives for production and capital investments come from the entity level. The umbrella institution for export, approval, and control is the Veterinary Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, operating within the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. Sometimes, the most important thing for us is to receive timely information so that we can respond appropriately at any moment. There are certain incentives at the entity and cantonal levels, so it would be unfair to say that we lack support,” concluded Popović in an interview with N1.
