Four associations of dairy farmers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which represent the areas where almost 70 percent of raw milk is produced in the country, sent a request to BiH institutions at the end of September for the urgent introduction of measures to protect domestic production and reduce imports.
They warned that farms were closing, while three dairies announced a new reduction in the purchase price of milk by five pfennigs. One cooperative has already completely stopped buying.
In the Republic of Srpska, more than 30 farms have so far sold out their heads and stopped production. The situation is not better in the Federation of BiH either. Due to the same problems, two large farms in Živinice were recently shut down.
Dairy farmers are asking the competent institutions for urgent protection of domestic production, warning that imported milk has flooded the market.
According to the data submitted by sector associations with the request, from January to the end of August this year, 33.35 million kilograms of milk and milk products were imported, with a total value of 159.70 million BAM.
At the same time, domestic producers are trying to survive with purchase prices that stagnate, despite high production costs.
Shutting down farms does not only mean the loss of individual producers, but also a decrease in the amount of domestic milk, a drop in production and greater dependence on imports. It is a sector from which tens of thousands of people live directly or indirectly.
Dairy farmers propose the introduction of surcharges in the amount of 0.38 to 3.19 BAM per kilogram, depending on the product, as well as customs quotas for certain categories of dairy products. They also proposed a way to distribute the income from these measures.
The four associations that signed the request represent areas where almost 70 percent of raw milk is produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As they state, they have not received feedback from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the second week in a row.
