The milk and dairy products industry will face an increase in the prices of raw materials, food, cereals and everything necessary for production, which will certainly affect the final price of products, which is why the competent government institutions should facilitate business in this strategic branch, said the President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ahmet Egrlic.
There are many measures that the authorities need to adopt and ensure that this sector grows and prospers, Egrlic told reporters at the beginning of the session of the Assembly of the Group of Processors of Milk and Dairy Products.
He stated that, in the light of all events in BiH and the world, the dairy industry has a deficit in foreign trade and it is slightly lower than average.
He says that the coverage of imports by exports is around 66 percent, and in this sector it is around 53 percent.
“We import 177 million BAM of milk products, of which only cheese is about 92 million BAM, while in total this industry and branch of the economy exports about 93 million BAM,” said Egrlic.
According to him, food, energy and the pharmaceutical industry are the three key branches of the economy that every country needs, and in that sense, BiH should work on strengthening them.
He believes that it would be good to support the reduction and abolition of excise duties on fuel, differentiate the VAT rate, reduce taxes and contributions on salaries and thus relieve the economy.
Egrlic said that the Assembly of the Group of Processors of Milk and Dairy Products in BiH will discuss current problems and some technical issues today, such as the elections within this association.
The representative of the Dairy Industry “99” from Gradacac, Indira Omeragic, pointed out that the dairy industry is in big problems due to the crisis and that the competent institutions must react immediately.
Omeragic says that they have problems with spring sowing, and if the competent institutions do not take some measures, there will be a reduction in fodder.
As for sowing itself, she stated that seeds were provided that are 20 to 30 percent more expensive than last year, and the biggest problem is fertilizer, which has become 300 percent more expensive.
She pointed out that the problems caused will increase the price of milk and dairy products.
“We expect to solve the new problems together with the competent institutions,” said Omeragic, adding that they welcomed the abolition of excise duties and the reduction of the differential VAT rate.
Source: BHRT
