Bosnia and Herzegovina will suspend the import of fresh chilled beef until further notice. As of Monday, August 24, only frozen shipments can be imported into the country, ekapija business portal writes.
The notification sent by the Veterinary Office to the departments of the border veterinary inspection states that the decisions for the import of beef will not be issued due to the high risk. Permitted imports of frozen beef consignments will be subject to rigorous controls.
“Frozen meat will be subject to detailed verification through the veterinary information system, in particular the verification of documentation. It is necessary to draw the attention to correctly announce shipments, especially to take care when entering data and veterinary certificates,” is stated from the Veterinary Office of BiH.
Farmer from Gradiška, Ranko Sarajlic and one of the members of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Republika Srpska, says that a complete import ban is not the happiest solution.
In his opinion, imports should be allowed in order to place a financial burden on the border.
“I think it is not good to totally cut meat imports. It would be best to protect this with levies, that is the only real measure. For example, to introduce a levy of 2 BAM per kilogram and a customs duty of 10% in the next two years,” says Sarajlic.
He estimates that in the case of a complete import ban, there would be an explosion of prices on the domestic market.
