The announced price increases of bread and bakery products, which were already preceded by the increase in the price of oil, are just an introduction to a series of price increases of all basic foodstuffs that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will not be able to follow and which will endanger their existence, as was announced by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH.
“Our country’s dependence on wheat imports (we import 80 percent of the required wheat), the stepmotherly attitude of the authorities towards domestic agri-food production, lack of commodity reserves, as well as 23 percent increase in the price of wheat globally, international transport (the price of container transport from China instead of 800 U.S. dollars now costs 9.000) and oil, put us in the position that by the end of this year we will be faced with a lack of basic agri-food products and enormously high prices of products we will have in our stores, “it was noted in the statement.
For months, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH has been calling on the authorities to support domestic producers, redirect money from various funds and donations to agriculture, which would enable the production of products that will meet most of the needs of BiH citizens.
“We warned that the growth of basic food prices must becontrolled in order to protect workers, their families, pensioners,and other vulnerable groups, as well as all citizens of BiH. Now is the last chance to shift the focus of the authorities to find ways how to buy all additional agricultural products from domestic producers, replenish commodity reserves, and thus prevent the dark scenario that, without an adequate and quick reaction from the authorities, is definitely ahead of us, ” the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH warns, Buka writes.
