June 19, 2018

July agreement to allow Bosnia's dairy, milk into China
 

In July, a deal between China and Bosnia would be signed, opening the doors for the latter's milk, dairy and honey products to enter the Chinese market, Balkan Insight reported.

Both nations had recently concluded the final stage of negotiations on veterinary medicine at a ministerial conference in Ningbo, China. The event was part of China's '16+1' initiative which sparked a flood of Chinese investments in infrastructure and related industries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The agreement is expected to be signed next month during the next 16+1 summit in Bulgaria. The grouping includes China, EU states and five non-EU Balkan countries.

"This agreement will allow the export of honey, milk and dairy products from Bosnia to China and in a short time, we can expect the first results, among other projects planned with China here in Bosnia," Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia's Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Minister, said.

Bosnia's exports to China is limited with only 3% entering the Chinese market, based on data by the Foreign Trade Chamber. Furthermore, Bosnian exporters would have to meet certain criteria before obtaining access to China, said Aleksandar Markovic, economics professor at the University of East Sarajevo.

Bosnia's main markets for its dairy products are Germany, Italy, Croatia and Serbia.

Even then, the country is hamstrung by a huge trade deficit.