Poultry farmers in Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved a 23 percent increase in the value of egg exports in eight months of this year, while the quantity of exports increased to a slightly lesser extent. In the sector, they point out that there is significant untapped potential for further growth, which is limited due to the impossibility of exporting class A table eggs to the European Union market.
According to data from the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, the value of egg exports in eight months of this year reached 15.16 million KM, which is 23 percent more than in the same period last year. At the same time, imports increased by 23.27 percent and amounted to 11 million KM, so BiH achieved a surplus in this area of more than four million KM.
- The growth of import and export of eggs in Bosnia and Herzegovina is explained by structural differences within the poultry market itself, i.e. the fact that the same categories of products are not imported and exported, nor are they marketed for the same purposes. We export fresh table eggs to regional markets and B-class eggs for industrial processing to the EU markets, and we also import table eggs and fertilized eggs for planting – they stated for Fena from VTKBiH.
It is interesting to note that the quantity of exports increased by only about eight percent, while the value of exports jumped by as much as 23 percent. This means that BiH producers managed to achieve a significantly higher price for their products on foreign markets. Economists would say that this is an increase in the unit export value, and for poultry farmers it is proof that their goods are becoming more and more competitive.
The most important export markets are currently Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Austria and Croatia.
Although domestic farmers already export eggs for processing to European Union countries, the more profitable segment of the market is not yet available to them. Namely, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not yet have approval for the export of table A class eggs to the EU market.
- Bh. producers have sufficient capacity and are quite competitive on the regional market, taking export data into account. However, when it comes to the European Union, the competitiveness of producers would increase significantly with the approval of exports to the consumption egg categories of class A. It is a well-known fact that only eggs for processing with lower price values are exported from BiH to the EU market – VTKBiH added.
On the other hand, producers warn that they operate under more difficult conditions than competition from individual countries from which eggs are imported. Bosnia and Herzegovina is still dependent on the import of key components for animal feed, such as cereals and soybean meal, as well as farm equipment. This means higher transport costs and greater exposure to global price increases. Although in terms of quality and health standards, poultry farming in BiH meets high criteria and is harmonized with European norms, the economic and regulatory position of domestic farmers is significantly less favorable compared to importers.
- We believe that BiH institutions must speed up the process of meeting the requirements for the export of table eggs to the European Union market and ensure regular and increased incentives per hen’s beak or per produced piece of egg in order to amortize the high costs of poultry feed, electricity and fuel. Also, it is necessary for everyone in the country to make the promotion of domestic production such as “let’s buy domestic” a priority – VTKBiH stated.
