The dairy sector recorded a record export value of 106.6 million BAM last year, which is 17.9 million BAM, or 20 percent more than the previous year, was stated during the presentation of an analysis of this sector by the Foreign Trade Chamber BiH and Farma Two project implemented by Sweden and USAID, Biznis Info reports.
Deputy Project Manager Feda Begovic said that the dairy sector, in terms of quantity, recorded a surplus of almost 6.855 tonnes, but that it was worth a significant deficit of 73 million BAM.
“The reason for this lies in the unfavorable structure of trade because we mostly export milk and sour cream, which is 59 percent of total exports in the amount of 63 million BAM, while we import primarily cheese 45 percent of imports worth 82 million BAM,” said Begovic, adding that total imports of milk and dairy products in BiH amounted to 180 million BAM and increased by 17 percent compared to 2018.
According to him, there was a positive trend in the export structure, where the share of yogurt increased and the share of long-term / UHT milk decreased. Speaking about milk and sour cream, Begovic pointed out that it was worrying that imports increased by 19 million BAM compared to 2018, while exports increased by 4 million BAM.
Begovic explained that exports of fermented products continue to record the highest growth in the dairy sector, so last year it amounted to 34 million BAM and increased by 12 million BAM compared to 2018, while imports last year amounted to 28 million BAM and increased by one million BAM compared to the previous year.
When it comes to butter, he stated that exports in this category were growing and last year it amounted to two million BAM and the previous one million BAM, while imports have not changed significantly, 15 million BAM.
