It is quite certain that the coronavirus will have serious consequences for both the global economy and business in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vijesti.ba news portal reports.
Given that one of the outbreaks of the virus is Italy, with which BiH has relatively good export-import coverage, losses have yet to be expected.
The Final Group Pellet Factory in Luska Palanka, twenty kilometers from Sanski Most in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, which markets its products mainly to Italy, has not been in operation for twenty days.
The owner Besim Hrnic has confirmed to Radio Free Europe (RSE) that production has been suspended due to an inability to place the goods in Italy.
“We expect more information after April 3, when the blockades of cities in northern Italy were announced. Now, as things stand, there is no way to do anything, so we had to stop production,” says Hrnic.
Imports from Italy in the first two months of this year decreased by 16.69 million BAM (EUR 8.3 million) and exports by 39.62 million BAM (EUR 19.8 million), compared to the same period last year.
According to the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2019, exports to Italy amounted to one billion and 313 million BAM (656.5 million euros), and imports one billion and 685 million BAM (842.5 million euros). This country is the third largest foreign trade partner of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
