Exports of the company 'Vita' from Bosnia and Herzegovina are blocked, the CEFTA agreement is also violated

Although Kosovo is known for the high quality of its production and export in many countries of the world, it still faces obstacles in its export to nearby countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. This happens despite the fact that Kosovo has managed to ensure high standards for the quality of its products and has managed to export to the most important markets in the world.

While Kosovo cannot export milk products to Bosnia, our country imports six types of milk from this country.

This blockade is being done in violation of the principles of CEFTA for free trade, which are not being respected at all in the case of the company "Vita" from Kosovo.

Artan Spahija, executive director of the "Vita" dairy, has disclosed details of the ban imposed on him by the Bosnian state.

He said that they received a request for export there from a supplier, but that even though the payment was made by the supplier, they could not export the products at all.

"When we started participating in international fairs, and there we have many requests, among them was the Republic of Bosnia, where we have a request for the export of milk, dated 09.11.2022. The supplier made the payment for the milk and we immediately went to make the certificates, and we asked the state of Bosnia with which certificate to start the goods. But they never gave us an answer", he said.

Read too Kosovo is becoming more competitive in the global market - Dairy "Vita" increases exports to the United States, Europe and beyond but is blocked in Bosnia

Spahija has shown that the state of Bosnia has not responded to the Veterinary and Food Agency of the Republic of Kosovo, and in this way the CEFTA free trade agreement is being violated, but the company is also being damaged.

"On 21. 11. 2022, we addressed AVUK in Pristina, where we asked them to have a communication with the state of Bosnia. They have launched an official e-mail but have not received a response. Again in January we have a meeting with AVUK and they still do not have an answer from the state of Bonja, where it is known that Kosovo will import somewhere around 66 million approximately in 2022, where Kosovo's export to Bosnia is only 11 million. Among them 66 million, the third or fourth is the milk that enters from the state of Bosnia to Kosovo, where it is unfair for us to export to the state of Bosnia, where it is known that in the CEFTA agreement we also have the right to we also export to Bosnia and other parts", said director Spahija, in the show "7 days with Pangja" in Klan Kosova.

While from AVUK, the director Flamur Kadriu has said that as early as December of last year, he asked the Bosnian authorities to allow the export from the "Vita" company, but he never received an answer.

Spahija has shown that already after many refusals to establish contacts, this issue was addressed in CEFTA by the state of Kosovo.

"In the 12th month, I made the request that we have two companies interested in the export of products of animal origin to Bosnia, their authority, in fact, their leader did not respond to our request. Then I wrote to the ministry in Bosnia, but I still didn't get an answer. Now it remains that through the CEFTA contact points, the request was made to the CEFTA secretariat and now it will be discussed at the CEFTA level where the problem lies," said Kadriu.

Regarding the export blockades of Kosovo, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rozeta Hajdari, last week indicated that she is aware and that the state authorities are in contact with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while they are still waiting for an answer, Telegrafi reports.

On the other hand, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Skënder Krasniqi, says that the country's institutions should react faster when there are similar cases where local producers are blocked from exporting, as well as decide the measure of reciprocity.

"we had to have a faster reaction from the institutions and the AVUK, but also from the Ministry of Trade, asking CEFTA and Bosnia for an answer as to why this blockade is happening. And if this is unreasonable, then the Government of Kosovo should start reciprocity with Bosnia. For the time that the loss is created, compensation will have to be requested from the Bosnian institutions in this case, for the losses caused to the company. Because we are dealing with not small losses and endangering jobs on the part of the company", said Krasniqi.

According to him, CEFTA is not the first time it violates these rules.

"We, as a chamber of commerce, have requested that Kosovo leave CEFTA for a while and enter as the Republic of Kosovo since we are there as UNMIK and enter CEFTA with full rights. Despite our constant requests, we do not have anything concrete," he said, among other things.

The "Vita" company, despite attempts to get clarifications from the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina about the equal treatment of the products of this country in Kosovo, has not received any response.

According to the trade balance data between the two countries, Kosovo imports approximately 66.4 million euros of goods from Bosnia, while Bosnia only imports 11.1 million euros of goods from Kosovo.

Otherwise, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a state that does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, even the movement of citizens there is still done with visas, despite the efforts of the "Berlin Process" for movement with identity cards, this has not happened, since Bosnia and Herzegovina has not ratified this agreement . /Telegraph/